Have a merry and safe Christmas

Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi

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Thursday | December 24, 2020

How is Christmas going

to be different for you this year?
BY SLIM SMITH AND TESS VRBIN
ssmith@cdispatch.com, tvrbin@cdispatch.com

A
s the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched into the Christmas season, many have adapted,
or downsized, their plans to celebrate. We asked area residents how their Christmas
celebrations will be different this year.

“It’s been kind of hard. A lot of people
lost their jobs, but you’ve got to try to get
through and keep praying. Stay prayed up.
Usually, we would travel and go see family
and everything, but with the virus you
have to be careful.”
— Sherika Swanigan, Columbus
“Just seeing that there are a lot of other
people in the community and beyond that
have it a lot more difficult than we do,
it’s just really helped us to embrace an
attitude of gratitude and focus inward on
our family.”
— Victoria Lindsey, Starkville
“It’s going to (have) less people involved
and we’ll have to keep our social dis-
tance. It’s kind of sad because you can’t
spend time with your loved ones like you
used to.”
— Michelle Brooks, West Point
“We won’t do big family gatherings. It will
just be our immediate family, but in some
ways that’s kind of nice. I have a 7-year-
old son and we can really just concentrate
on him.”
— Jeremy Baham, Starkville

The biggest difference is my mom is in
a nursing home, and we won’t be able to
have her come to our home for Christmas
this year. We’ll have a window-visit on
Christmas Eve, but it’s not the same. We
normally have a big gathering for Christ-
mas, but it’s just going to be just close
family this year.”
— Kimberly Peterson, Columbus
“We haven’t done the typical events, like
going to Disney on Ice and Polar Express
... (but) we’re still going to be with family
and have fun exchanging gifts.”
— Gretchen Crawford
and her 3-year-old daughter,
Mary Martin Crawford, Starkville
“I’m not going to see my grandparents,
which is kind of a bummer, but I’m still
hanging out with my parents. Obviously
things aren’t as bustling as usual, which
is kind of nice in itself. You really appre-
ciate the quality time with your family
because you’re kind of forced to be at
home with them.”
— Avery Smith, visiting Starkville
from Athens, Georgia
“We have a small family, so Christmas
Day won’t be much different. What is
different is that we won’t have the Christ-
mas Cantata at our church, and we won’t
have the children’s play that I direct at our
church every year. The kids are so cute
and it’s so much fun, so I’m really going
to miss that.”
— Lindsey Turner, Carrollton, Alabama

Doctors stress importance of taking COVID vaccine as it becomes available

Baptist receives 500 doses of Moderna, began
vaccinating front-line workers Wednesday
BY ISABELLE ALTMAN
ialtman@cdispatch.com
Dr. Jack Reed has worked for
Baptist Memorial Hospital for
45 years, and on Wednesday,
he was the first employee there
to receive a COVID-19 vaccina-
tion.
Reed, Baptist’s first chief
medical officer and currently
on the faculty for the hospital’s
residency program, is one of the
oldest employees at the hospital
at 73, so administrators strong-
ly urged him to be vaccinated.
“It was my pleasure,” he told
media members at the hospital
as Registered Nurse Shelly Kid-
der cleaned and put a Band-Aid
over the spot on his arm where
she’d inserted the needle a few
moments before. “I think it’s
the right thing for me to do, and
I think it’s the right thing for
our country.”
Reed was one of about 60
employees who took their first
round of the Moderna vaccine
after Baptist received a ship-
ment of 500 doses Wednesday.
More staff will receive the vac-
cine next week after Christmas
holidays.
Staff at OCH Regional Med-
ical Center in Starkville also
received 100 doses of the Mod-
erna vaccine and began vacci-
nating their front-line staff on
Monday.
The Food and Drug Admin-
istration approved the vaccine
for emergency use last week, al-
lowing hospitals and long-term
care facilities all over the coun-
try to begin vaccinating staff
that work most closely with
COVID-19 patients and are at
highest risk of contracting the
virus.
At Baptist, administrators set
up tables where nurses would
See VACCINE, 7A

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS DISPATCH HOLIDAY SCHEDULE INSIDE TODAY PUBLIC

1 Who played George Bailey in the Christ- ■ The offices of The Dispatch will be closed Look MEETINGS
mas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life?” and no paper will be printed on Friday, Dec. for The Dec. 30:
2 In the 1964 classic “Rudolph the Red- 25 and Friday, Jan. 1 for Christmas and New Dispatch’s Lowndes
Nosed Reindeer,” what was the name of Year’s Day. The Dispatch offices will also close Christmas County Board
Rudolph’s faithful elf companion? at noon on Thursday, Dec. 24 and Thursday, Greetings of Supervisors
3 According to the folklore of Austria and Dec. 31. special meeting, 9 a.m.,
other countries, what horned figure pun- section Lowndes County
Cami Harris ishes naughty children at Christmastime? with Courthouse,
4 What beverage company has been
Fifth grade, Annunciation
using Santa Claus in its advertising since CALENDAR letters to
Santa and
facebook.com/

42 Low 20
1931? LowndesCounty-
artwork
High 5 How many reindeer are featured in the
poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas?” Tuesday through from local
Mississippi/
Jan. 4: Lowndes
Wind chill in the 10s
Full forecast on Answers, 8B
Sunday, Dec. 22-27 children County Board
■ “It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play”: in today’s of Supervi-
page 3A.
Starkville Community Theatre presents this paper. sors, 9 a.m.,
online radio performance via stream, available Courthouse,
INSIDE for $5 at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-de- facebook.com/
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2A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

New round of Trump clemency

benefits Manafort, other allies
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President
Donald Trump pardoned more than
two dozen people, including former
campaign chairman Paul Manafort
and Charles Kushner, the father of
his son-in-law, in the latest wave of
clemency to benefit longtime asso-
ciates and supporters.
The actions, in Trump’s waning
time at the White House, bring to
nearly 50 the number of people
whom the president has granted
clemency in the last week. The list
from the last two days includes not
only multiple people convicted in
the investigation into the Trump
campaign’s ties to Russia but also
allies from Congress and other
felons whose causes were champi-
oned by friends.
Pardons are common in the fi-
nal stretch of a president’s tenure,
the recipients largely dependent on
the individual whims of the nation’s
chief executive. Trump throughout
his administration has shucked
aside the conventions of the Obama
administration, when pardons were
largely reserved for drug offenders
not known to the general public,
and instead bestowed clemency on
high-profile contacts and associ-
ates who were key figures in an in-
vestigation that directly concerned
him.
Even members of the president’s
own party raised eyebrows, with
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Ne-
braska issuing a brief statement
that said: “This is rotten to the
core.”
The pardons Wednesday of
Manafort and Roger Stone, who
months earlier had his sentence
commuted by Trump, were partic-
ularly notable, underscoring the
president’s desire to chip away at
the results and legacy of special
counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia
investigation. He has now pardoned
five people convicted in that investi-
gation, four of them associates like
former national security adviser
Michael Flynn and campaign ad-
viser George Papadopoulos, both
of whom pleaded guilty to lying to
the FBI.
“The pardons from this Presi-
dent are what you would expect to
get if you gave the pardon power to a
mob boss,” tweeted Andrew Weiss-
mann, a Mueller team member who
helped prosecute Manafort.
Manafort, who led Trump’s cam-
paign during a pivotal period in
Trump threatens COVID relief
bill, testing loyalty of GOP
WASHINGTON — Threaten-
ing to tank Congress’ massive
COVID relief and government
funding package, President Don-
ald Trump’s demand for bigger aid
checks for Americans is forcing
Republicans traditionally wary of
such spending into an uncomfort-
able test of allegiance.
On Thursday, House Demo-
crats who also favor $2,000 checks
will all but dare Republicans to
break with Trump, calling up his
proposal for a Christmas Eve vote.
The president’s last-minute objec-
tion could derail critical legisla-
tion amid a raging pandemic and
deep economic uncertainty. His
attacks risk a federal government
shutdown by early next week.
“Just when you think you have
seen it all,” House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi wrote Wednesday in a letter
to colleagues.
“The entire country knows that
it is urgent for the President to
sign this bill, both to provide the
coronavirus relief and to keep gov-
ernment open.”
Republicans led by Senate Ma-
jority Leader Mitch McConnell
have resisted $2,000 checks as too
costly. House Republicans are ex-
2016 before being ousted over his
ties to Ukraine, was among the first
people charged as part of Mueller’s
investigation into ties between the
Trump campaign and Russia. He
was later sentenced to more than
seven years in prison for financial
crimes related to his political con-
sulting work in Ukraine, but was
released to home confinement last
spring because of coronavirus con-
cerns in the federal prison system.
Though the charges against
Manafort did not concern the cen-
tral thrust of Mueller’s mandate —
whether the Trump campaign and
Russia colluded to tip the election
— he was nonetheless a pivotal fig-
ure in the investigation.
His close relationship to a man
U.S. officials have linked to Russian
intelligence, and with whom he
shared internal campaign polling
data, attracted particular scrutiny
during the investigation, though
Mueller never charged Manafort
or any other Trump associate with
conspiring with Russia.
Manafort, in a series of tweets,
pected to block the vote, but Dem-
ocrats may try again Monday.
The president’s last-minute ob-
jections are setting up a defining
showdown with his own Republi-
can Party in his final days in of-
fice.
Rather than take the victory of
the sweeping aid package, among
the biggest in history, Trump is
lashing out at GOP leaders over
the presidential election — for
acknowledging Joe Biden as pres-
ident-elect and rebuffing his cam-
paign to dispute the Electoral Col-
lege results when they are tallied
in Congress on Jan. 6.
The president’s push to in-
crease direct payments for most
Americans from $600 to $2,000 for
individuals and $4,000 for couples
splits the party with a politically
painful loyalty test, including for
GOP senators David Perdue and
Kelly Loeffler, fighting to retain
their seats in the Jan. 5 special
election in Georgia.
Republican lawmakers tra-
ditionally balk at big spending
and many never fully embraced
Trump’s populist approach. Their
political DNA tells them to oppose
a costlier relief package. But now
they’re being asked to stand with
the president.
SOURCE: AP
thanked Trump and lavished praise
on the outgoing president, declar-
ing that history would show he had
accomplished more than any of his
predecessors.
Trump did not pardon Manafort’s
deputy, Rick Gates, who was sen-
tenced last year to 45 days in prison
after extensively cooperating with
prosecutors, or former Trump law-
yer Michael Cohen, who pleaded
guilty to campaign finance crimes
related to his efforts to buy the si-
lence of women who said they had
sexual relationships with Trump.
Both were also convicted in the
Mueller probe.
New York City prosecutors,
meanwhile, have been seeking to
have the state’s highest court re-
vive state mortgage fraud charges
against Manafort after a lower court
dismissed them on double jeopardy
grounds. A spokesman for District
Attorney Cy Vance said the pardon
“underscores the urgent need to
hold Mr. Manafort accountable for
his crimes against the People of
New York.”

AROUND THE WORLD

Africa CDC: New virus
variant appears to
emerge in Nigeria
NAIROBI, Kenya —
Another new variant of
the coronavirus appears
to have emerged in Ni-
geria, Africa’s top public
health official said Thurs-
day, but he added that
further investigation was
needed.
The discovery could
add to new alarm in the
pandemic after similar
variants were announced
in Britain and South Af-
rica, leading to the swift
return of international
travel restrictions and
other measures just as
the world enters a major
holiday season.
“It’s a separate lineage
from the UK and South
Africa,” the head of the
Africa Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Preven-
tion, John Nkengasong,
told reporters. He said
the Nigeria CDC and the
African Center of Excel-
lence for Genomics of In-
fectious Diseases in that
country — Africa’s most
populous — will be ana-
lyzing more samples.
“Give us some time
... it’s still very early,” he
said.
The alert about the
apparent new variant was
based on two or three ge-
netic sequences, he said,
but that and South Afri-
ca’s alert late last week ence in scale of genomic
were enough to prompt surveillance in Nigeria
an emergency meeting vs the U.K. may imply a
of the Africa CDC this reduced power to detect
week. such changes,” the paper
The variant was found says.
in two patient samples The news comes as
collected on Aug. 3 and infections surge again in
on Oct. 9 in Nigeria’s parts of the African con-
Osun state, according to tinent.
a working research paper The new variant in
seen by The Associated South Africa is now the
Press. predominant one there,
Unlike the variant seen Nkengasong said, as
in the UK, “we haven’t ob- confirmed infections in
served such rapid rise of the country approach 1
the lineage in Nigeria and million. While the vari-
do not have evidence to ant transmits quickly and
indicate that the P681H viral loads are higher, it
variant is contributing to is not yet clear whether
increased transmission of it leads to a more severe
the virus in Nigeria. How- disease, he said.
ever, the relative differ- SOURCE: AP
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 3A

COVID cases in Mississippi surpass 200,000 before Christmas

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — The total num-
ber of coronavirus cases in
Mississippi surpassed 200,000
Wednesday, two days before
the Christmas holiday when
health officials said they ex-
pect a spike due to social gath-
erings.
During a virtual briefing
with the news media Tuesday,
Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississip-
pi’s state health officer, plead-
ed with residents to adhere to
state guidelines around masks
and social distancing on Christ-
mas. The safest way to cele-
brate the holiday is to confine
gatherings to nuclear family
Dobbs Reeves
only, Dobbs said.
“Be aware of the super-
spreader at your dinner table,”
he said. “Please know how vul-
nerable we can be when we mix
people who are younger and
older.”
One holiday-related event
in the state has already caused
an outbreak, according to local
news reports.
The Sun Herald reports that
at least 10 people on the Missis-
sippi coast have tested positive
after a week of events tied to
the Biloxi Yacht Club.
The club held the Commo-
dore’s Ball, an evening of din-
ner and dancing in cocktail at-
tire, inside the yacht club Dec.
12. Organizers say mask-wear-
ing and social distancing was
enforced. However, now-delet-
ed social media posts showed
attendees pictured without
masks dancing shoulder to
shoulder, according to The
Herald.
The next day, families were
invited to the club to visit with
Santa and Mrs. Claus. The ma-
rina committee met in-person
on Tuesday afternoon, followed
by a board meeting on Wednes-
day.
Jay Lee, the club’s incoming
leader, told the Sun Herald that
most of the people who tested
positive were at the marina
committee meeting. Several
people who had been at the ball
attended the marina committee
meeting at the club, but not ev-
eryone who tested positive at-
tended the ball, Lee said.
The Biloxi Yacht Club is still
planning to hold a dinner on
New Year’s Eve, Lee said. He
said club’s officers will meet
after Christmas to make a final
decision about the event.
The Ocean Springs Yacht
Club has postponed their annu-
al Commodore’s Ball, typically
held on New Year’s Eve, be-
cause of the pandemic.
The state Health Depart-
ment reported Wednesday
that Mississippi had 2,634 new
confirmed cases of the highly
contagious virus as of Tues-
day evening. The department
also reported 43 new deaths
Wednesday, with 37 of them
happening between Oct. 30 and
Tuesday. The state has report-
ed 200,325 cases of the virus
and 4,533 deaths from it since
the start of the pandemic.

MDHS recovers more than $1,000 in welfare fraud case

DISPATCH STAFF REPORT
Mississippi Department of Hu-
man Services has received full
restitution in a welfare fraud case
from Columbus, according to a
MDHS press release.
The department’s Benefit Re-
covery Unit recovered $1,142.04 for
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) funds following
the conviction of former Clerical
Support Employee Deidra Norris.
Norris was indicted for welfare
fraud in August and pleaded guilty
to stealing and activating SNAP
cards meant for individuals in a
drug rehabilitation facility, as well
as other EBT (electronic benefits
transfer) cards, the press release
said.
“This is the culmination of hard
work by divisions within our Office
of Inspector General to not only
identify and eliminate fraud, but to
recover the misused funds so they
can go to the people who need and
qualify for them,” MDHS Execu-
tive Director Robert G. Anderson
said in the press release.
Norris has been sentenced to
three years of non-adjudicated
probation, according to Lowndes
County Circuit Court records.

AROUND THE STATE

Slaying victims in
Mississippi included
90-year-old woman
MERIDIAN — A
90 -year-old woman was
among the victims of
a quadruple slaying in
Mississippi, police said
Wednesday.
The Lauderdale
County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment identified Virginia
Jay at a news conference.
Sheriff’s officials identi-
fied the other victims as
Beverly Kaiser Fulton,
64; April Fulton Tucker,
39; and Bryce Fisher
Tucker, 14, WTOK-T V
reported.
The suspect was iden-
tified as 40 -year-old
Matthew Jay Tucker. Au-
thorities said sometime
between 9:30 p.m. Mon-
day and noon Tuesday,
Tucker killed Jay, who
was his grandmother;
along with his wife, son
and mother-in-law. It
was unclear how the vic-
tims were killed.
Matthew Tucker later
died of what appeared to
be a self-inflicted gun-
shot wound after leading
police on a chase.
Chief Deputy Ward
Calhoun said Tucker was
arrested in late October
for simple assault-do-
mestic violence, but had
since bonded out.
“There are a lot of
family members and
relatives in our commu-
nity that are affected
because of the events
of yesterday,” Calhoun
said.
A church prayer ser-
vice was scheduled late
Wednesday for the fam-
ilies of the victims.
SOURCE: AP

BUILDING PERMITS
City of Columbus
Nov. 23-Dec. 18, 2020
n George Larry Woodward;
932 Military Road; demolish
northern addition; same
n CCHDO Inc.; 912 11th
Avenue South; fire sprinkler
system install; Building Tech-
nology Services LLC
n Jody M. Andrews; 1202
12th Avenue North; front door/
sidewalk cover; same
n Antonio Murray and Laron-
da Poe; 105 Luxapalila Drive;
repair termite damage; same
n Nicholas J. Ervin; 304
Dogwood Road; replace deck
floor/erect ret. wall; Author W
Burr Masonry
n Lawrence Wilson; 1314 5th
Avenue North; repairs from
kitchen fire; same
n Sue Buckhalter; 604 Kens-
ington Place; new single-family
residence; Rhett Construction
LLC
n M2D2 Investments LLC;
152, 158 South McCrary
Road; remodel commercial
space; Tommy Johnson Inc.
n Christopher Chain; 1995
Waverly Ferry Road; expand RV
park; Renovations of Missis-
sippi
n Waverly Enterprises LLC;
605 Leigh Drive; renovations
to ramps/apartments; same
n Martin Stillman; 110
Gardner Boulevard; sign; Mid-
South Signs
n Julia Brown; 1221 Water-
works Road; repairs from fire;
same
n City of Columbus; 2ndAve-
nue North, 12th & 13th Street
North; public utility; Atmos
Energy
n Dutch Oil Company; 1500A
Highway 45 North; exterior
renovations; same
n Chris Jenkins; 3189-L
Highway 45 North; Wall sign;
Econo Signs
n Chris Jenkins; 325 Idlewild
Road; Wall sign; Econo Signs
n Bertha Stewart; 1616 11th
Street North; Electrical; Living-
ston and Sons
n Bemetris nash; 913 Ben-
nett Avenue; electrical; Jimmie
Chism
n Swoope Investments LLC;
2203 Highway 45 North; elec-
trical; Weathers Electric
n Sue Burkhalter; 604
Kensington Place; electrical;
n Mark Hardy; 425 Hospital
Drive, Suite 3; electrical; Twin
Rivers Maintenance
n Charles King; 216
Robinwood Circle; electrical;
Nickoles Electric
n St. Paul’s Episcopal Church;
318 College Street; electrical;
weathers Electric
n FNMA; 113 13th Street
North; electrical; Livingston
and Sons
n Shane Cruse; 221 Maple
Street; electrical; Livingston
and Sons
n Ida Warfield; 2424 23rd
Avenue North; electrical; Jim-
mie Chism
n Shane Cruse; 219 Maple
Street; electrical; Livingston
and Sons
n Gen4 Waters LLC; 157
Magnolia Road; electrical;
Guerry Electric LLC
n Herbert Tedford; 1103 8th
Avenue North Apt 2 or B; elec-
trical; Twin River Maintenance
n Jody M Andrews; 1202
12th Avenue North; electrical;
same
n John H Smith; 2613 Boyde
Road; electrical;; same
n Hollis Roofing; 213 Conway
Drive; electrical; Triangle Air
and Electric Inc.
n Lory and Bernard Wilson;
1919 Bell Avenue; electrical;
Jimmie Chism
n Military Lee LLC; 1815
Military Road; electrical; Ables
Electric
n Kathi and John Bean; 515
Greenbriar Drive; electrical;
Wofford Electric
n John Harkins; 1515 Bell
Avenue; electrical; Nickoles
Electric
n Victory Tabernacle Church
et al; 324 5th Street South;
mechanical; Patterson HVAC
n Kahiah Wilkins; 900 Ruffin
Road; mechanical; Climate
Tech
n Swoope Investments LLC;
2203 Highway 45 North; me-
chanical; Patterson HVAC
n Magnolia Enterprises; 3500
Bluecutt Road; Mechanical;
Columbus Fire Service
n Ethel Hatton; 195 Pan-
dora Drive; plumbing; P & H
Plumbing
n Cindy Livingston; 1412 8th
Avenue North; plumbing; P & H
Plumbing
n Roger Larsen; 206 2nd
Avenue North; plumbing; Rush-
P & H Plumbing Robert Builders
n Leon Fort; 817 17th Street n Frazier Clinic; 921-B main
North; plumbings; Tabor Street; plumbing; Roto Rooter
Plumbing n TL Phillips & Henry Weiss;
n Tim Younger; 606 Dublin 501 7th Street North, Suite 9;
Drive; plumbings; Tabor plumbing; Brislin Inc.
Plumbing
n BIDPEE LLC; 815 13th
Street North, B; plumbings;
Lowndes County
Roto Rooter Dec. 23, 2020
n Richard Lowry; A.Q. Stanley
n Tinree LLC; 306 McCrary
Drive, Apt 7; plumbing; Klutts Road; construct storage/shop;
Plumbing owner
n Daniel Jenkins; 5016 Nash-
n Chris Morgan; 1911 14th
Avenue North; plumbing; Tabor ville Ferry Road; set up mobile
Plumbing Home; owner
n Daniel Jenkins; 5016 Nash-
n James Cunningham; 1515
6th Avenue South; plumbing; ville Ferry Road; move mobile
Tabor Plumbing Home; Regional Enterprises
n Ken and Carla Ross; 3660
n Marcell Hill; 1510 10th
Avenue North; plumbing; Tabor Old Wolfe Road; construct s/f
Plumbing residence; owner
n Scotty and Alecia Clark;
n Teresa Deloach; 1522 9th
Avenue North; Plumbing; Bow- 129 N. Perkins Road; set up
en Backhoe mobile home; Jessie James
n Fred Jones; 723 16th n Scotty and Alecia Clark;
Street North; plumbing; Bowen 129 N. Perkins Road; move
cdispatch.com
Backhoe mobile home; Tupelo Home
n Sam Livingston; 424 Sum- Center
merhaven Drive; plumbing; P &
H Plumbing
n Swoope Investments LLC;
2203 Highway 45 North;
plumbing; Klutts Plumbing
n Larry Tate; 437 18th
Street South; plumbing; Tabor
Plumbing
n Larry Tate; 431 18th
Street South; plumbing; Tabor
Plumbing
n Grand View Investments
LLC; 2240 Military Road, Suite
C; plumbing; Rushing Plumbing
n Military Lee LLC; 1815 Mil-
itary Road; plumbing; Rushing
Plumbing
n Rodriquez Dismuke; 1333
5th Street South; plumbing;
Brian Swedenburg
n Luxapalila Land Co 9; 2136
High 69 South; plumbing;
Brian Swedenburg
n Sue Burkhalter; 604 Kens-
ington Place; plumbing;; Klutts
Plumbing
n Sammie Livingston; 506
Beech Street; plumbing; P & H
Plumbing
n Columbus Housing Author-
ity; 608 Avenue A; plumbing;
Roberts Builders
n Sam Livingston; 410 15th
SOLUNAR TABLE
Street North; plumbing; P & H The solunar period indicates
peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Plumbing Major
Thurs.
8:29p
Fri.
9:09p
n Frances Jone Borland; Minor 3:03p 3:31p
Major 8:49a 9:30a
2315 Main Street, Unit A; 4:22a
Minor 3:28a
plumbing; Klutts Plumbing Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
n Haley Jones; 161 Commu-

Electrical Services Plus LLC
n Marcell Hill; 1510 10th
Avenue North; electrical; Vertis
Lee
n Ken Smith; 222 Waverly
Road; electrical; Malone
Electric
n 3LC LLC; 119 Florence
Street; electrical; Jimmie
Chism
ing Plumbing
n Blades Hair Design LLC;
116 5th Street North; upstairs
apt.; plumbing; Brian Sweden-
burg
n Victory Tabernacle Church
et al; 324 5th Street South;
plumbing; Klutts Plumbing
n Sammy Livingston; 2602
6th Avenue North; plumbings;
nity Road; plumbing; P & H
Plumbing
n Hung Younger; 919 4th
Avenue North; plumbing; Tabor
Plumbing
n Lori Smith; 158 Community
Road, lot; plumbing; Tabor
Plumbing
n Columbus Housing Author-
ity; 505 Avenue b; plumbing;
The Dispatch
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4A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

AREA OBITUARIES Ricky Harcrow

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day, in Sandfield Georgia and Tiffany day, in Ricky Lee Harcrow, age 64, of Carrollton,
Cemetery. Visitation Worthy of Chicago, Sandfield AL, died Monday, December 21, 2020, at Baptist
was from noon-5 p.m. Illinois; siblings, Bar- Ceme- Memorial Hospital in Columbus, MS.
Tuesday, at Lee-Sykes bara Wilson Neurell tery, with Graveside services will be 11:00 AM Thursday,
Funeral Home. Lee- of Chester, Maryland, Jimmy December 24, 2020, at Greenhill Memorial
Sykes Funeral Home Alfonzo Wilson and Rice of- Gardens with Rev. Tony Latham officiating and
of Columbus was in King Wilson both of ficiating. Skelton Funeral Home of Reform directing. A
charge of arrange- St. Louis, Missouri; Visitation Weston short visitation will be held at the graveside
ments. and 25 grandchildren. will be following the service.
Mr. Wilson was born from noon-5 p.m. Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Debra
Oct. 19, 1943, to Toy Earnestine Sanders Saturday, at Carter’s Leard Harcrow; two daughters, Debbie McDaniel
and Davis Dean Blair COLUMBUS — Funeral Services Chap- (Bryan) and Brandy Dorsett; his sister, Diane
Wilson. He attended Earnestine Anthony el. Carter’s Funeral Mills (Carl); five grand children, Destiny Norred,
Fayette County, Ala- Sanders, 81, died Dec. Services of Columbus Lynnsey Horton, Tyler Norred, Carlie Horton
bama schools. 16, 2020, is in charge of arrange- and Bryleigh McDaniel; and two nephews, Kevin
He is survived by at Baptist ments. Mills (Brandi) and Bryan Mills (Mindy).
his daughter, Cassan- Memorial Mr. Weston was Ricky was born June 9, 1956, in Tuscaloosa,
dra Perry; three sis- Hospi- born Jan. 3, 1985, in Alabama, to the late Richard Harold Harcrow
ters; four brothers; and tal-Golden and Alma Pauline McJenkin Harcrow. He was
Columbus, to Mary
three grandchildren. Triangle. an employee at Valmet in Columbus, MS. Ricky
Ann Weston and the
Grave- late Paulette Weston. loved the outdoors and was a member of the
Jacqueline Whitfield side Sanders He was a member of
White Oak Hunting Club.
COLUMBUS — Jac- services Pallbearers will be Charlie Horton, Tyler
Fourth Street M.B.
queline Whitfield, 74, will be Norred, Chris Leard, Larry Richardson, Blake
Church.
died Dec. 20, 2020. at noon Sunday, at Wheeler and Duane Leard.
In addition to his Honorary pallbearers are Donnie Cameron
Arrangements are Pleasant Ridge House mother, he is survived
incomplete and will be of Worship Cemetery, and Bryan McDaniel.
by his children, Lo-
announced by Lee- with Donna Anthony
retta Weston, Dina Paid Obituary - Skelton Funeral Home
Sykes Funeral Home of officiating. Visitation
Weston both of Wash-
Columbus. will be from noon-5
ington, DC, Kaziyah
p.m. Saturday, at Car-

through Thursday; and on
Friday by 3 p.m. for Sunday
and Monday publication. For
more information, call 662-
328-2471.
Mary Weathers
KENNEDY, Ala.
— Mary E. Weathers,
88, died Dec. 2020, at
Fayette Medical Long
Term Care Center.
Graveside services
were at 11 a.m. Tues-
day, in Meadow Branch
Cemetery. Dowdle
Funeral Home of
Millport, Alabama was
in charge of arrange-
ments.
Mrs. Weathers was
born March 2, 1932, in
Kennedy, Alabama, to
the late Doc Franklin
Rushing and Dessie
(Cooper) Rushing. She
was formerly employed
with the Westinghouse
plant and in the gar-
ment industry.
In addition to her
parents, she was
preceded in death by
her husband, Charles
Weathers; and siblings,
John Thomas Rushing,
Connie Foster, Geneva
Anderson and Genea
Haney.
She is survived by
her children, Tommy
Weathers and Ronnie
Weathers; sister, Vir-
ginia Henderson; six
grandchildren; and 11
great-grandchildren.
Thelma Sullivan
Weston, Zimmeko
Charlene Howard ter’s Funeral Services. Weston Jr both of
COLUMBUS — Carter’s Funeral Macon and Zinayla
Charlene Wilson Services of Columbus
Weston of Columbus; Thelma Junkin Sullivan,
“Cookie” Howard, 60, is in charge of arrange-
and siblings, Sonja age 91, of Northport, formerly
died Dec. 18, 2020, at ments.
Weston, Jarmarcus of Gordo, AL, passed away
Baptist Mrs. Sanders was
Weston, Corey Weston, December 19, 2020, at DCH
Memorial born Nov. 26, 1939, in
Columbus, to the late Lachila Weston, Ve- Regional Medical Center.
Hospi-
Mason Harris Jr. and onka Weston, Antonio A private service will be
tal-Golden
Esther Harris. She was Weston and Devexkiyo held at Skelton Funeral Home
Triangle.
a member of Pleasant Bankhead all of Colum- Chapel with Rev. Shamus Drake
Grave-
Ridge House of Wor- bus. officiating. Burial will follow
side
ship. See OBITS, 5A in Gordo City Cemetery with
services
Howard
In addition to her Skelton Funeral Home of Reform directing. A
will be
parents, she was Celebration of Life service will be announced at
at 1 p.m.
preceded in death by a later date.
Sunday, in Memorial
her husband, Willie She was preceded in death by her husband,
Gardens, with Robert
George Sanders; and John Roy Sullivan; her parents; two sisters; and
Wilson officiating.
siblings, Geraldine two brothers.
Visitation will be from
Sanders, Eunice Harris Survivors include her daughters, Linda Drake
noon-5 p.m. Saturday,
and Castella Lang. and Melody Cantrell (Claude); brother, Clatus
at Carter’s Funeral
She is survived by Junkin; sister, Mary Helen Daniel; sisters-
Services. Carter’s
her children, Debo- in-law, Judy Junkin and Jeanette Junkin; four
Funeral Services of Co-
rah Ann Buchanan, grandchildren, Shamus Drake (Danalinn),
lumbus is in charge of
Gerond A. Sanders, Shannon Drake Box (Jonathon “Ned”), Chelsea
arrangements.
Glynis Sanders, Cantrell and Jonathan Cody Cantrell; five great-
Mrs. Howard was
Audrey Pope, Ange- grandchildren, Katie Belle, Atticus, Aslan,
born May 4, 1960, in
lia Douglas, Anissa Alistair and Barry; and a number of nieces and
Columbus. She was a Kaye Duncan
Sanders, Raymond nephews.
graduate of Caldwell Graveside Services:
Harris all of Columbus Thursday, Dec. 24 • 11 AM
Mrs. Sullivan was born August 5, 1929, in
High School and was
and Donna Sanders of Egger Cemetery Gordo, Alabama, to the late Amon Elzy Junkin
formerly employed as College St. Location
Horne Lake; siblings, and Lula D. Elmore Junkin. She was a member of
co-owner of Able Con-
Odell Harris, Willie Antioch Baptist Church and a retired lunchroom
struction, with Sander-
manager for Lowndes County Board of Education.
son Plumbing, LeFlore James Harris, Shirley Betty Land Special thanks to the staff and residents of
Transportation and Hill, William Harris, Graveside Services:
Saturday, Dec. 26 • 2 PM Martinview Assisted Living, doctors, nurses and
Lowndes County Sher- Leander Harris, Velvet Friendship Cemetery
Harris all of Columbus, 2nd Ave. N. Location
staff of DCH and Northport Medical Center.
iff Department. She
James Earl Harris, and The family suggests memorials to New
was a member of Ma-
Mary L. Harris both of Vallie Gallop Beginnings & Open Arms, P.O. Box 277,
ranatha Faith Center.
Indianapolis, Indiana; Visitation: Sulligent, AL 35586 or International Mission
She was preceded in
13 grandchildren and Sunday, Dec. 27 • 1-2 PM Board, P. O. Box 6767, Richmond, VA 23230 or
death by her parents; College St. Location
17 great-grandchil- Graveside Services:
Healing Horses, 60147 S. Hatley Road, Amory,
and siblings, Tommy
dren. Sunday, Dec. 27 • 2:30 PM MS 38821.
L. Wilson and Willie Rowan Cemetery
M. Campbell. College St. Location Paid Obituary - Skelton Funeral Home
She is survived by Zimmeko Weston
her husband, Joe How- COLUMBUS

Marie Malone
Adolphus Wilson ard; children, Quanita — Zimmeko Mark
COLUMBUS — Brown, Vandrell Wil- Weston, 35, died Dec.
Adolphus Wilson, 77, son, Verlandes Wilson, 14, 2020, in Tuscaloo-
Joe Lee Howard Jr. all memorialgunterpeel.com
passed away. sa, Alabama. Beloved mother, grandmother,
Graveside services of Columbus, Darron Graveside services US Veteran Marie Dorothy
were at 2 p.m. Wednes- Howard of Atlanta, will be at 2 p.m. Mon- Malone, 87, peacefully passed
away Tuesday, December 22,
2020, in Columbus, MS.

Vallie Gallop Betty Land Marie was born on September

Vallie Logan Gallop, age 85, died Tuesday,
December 22, 2020 at Baptist Memorial Hospital,
Columbus.
Graveside services will be held Sunday,
December 27, 2020, at 2:30 PM at Rowan
Cemetery with Allen Jones officiating. Visitation
will be held at Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral
Home 903 College St. Sunday from 1:00 PM until
2:00 PM.
Mrs. Gallop was born on April 5, 1935, in
Tallahatchie County, MS to the late Jim and
Brunette Thomas Logan. She was a member
of East Columbus Church of Christ. She loved
gardening and spent a lot her time babysitting.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in
death by her twin sister, Allie Logan Smith.
Survivors include her husband, Lee Gallop,
Steens, MS; daughter, Debra Allbritton, Dallas,
TX; son, Charlie Joe Allbritton (Tina), Bullard,
TX; sister, Doris Jean King, Vandalia, OH;
grandchildren, Melisa Baucom, Kevin Baucom,
(Amanda), Jeramie Baucom, (Beverly) and
Taylor Allbritton; great-grandchildren, Spencer
Mixon, Colton Baucom, Emily Baucom, Adrianna
Baucom, Kira Baucom, Hunter Baucom, Olivia
Baucom and Jacob Baucom; and great-great-
grandchild, Ashton Gordon.
Serving as Pallbearers will be J.D. Baucom,
Kevin Baucom, Jaramie Baucom, Spencer
Mixon, Colton Baucom and Hunter Baucom
Serving as Honorary Pallbearers will be
Members of East Columbus Church of Christ.
Betty West Oliver Land age 92 died Monday
December 21, 2020, at Baptist Memorial Hospital,
Columbus.
A graveside service will be held Saturday
December 26, 2020, at 2:00 PM at Friendship
Cemetery with Rev. Jason Shelby officiating.
Mrs. Land was born on May 5, 1928, in
Columbus to the late John and Mary Beth West
Oliver. She was an active member of St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church where she served as co-chair
of the spring luncheon. She was a member
of the Daughters of the King and a treasured
member of the Cherokee Garden Club. Mrs.
Land was also a member of the “Sew It Seams”
sewing club, the Bernard Romans Chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, served as
Docent of the S.D. Lee Home for 27 years, and a
lifelong member of the Magowah Gun Club. She
retired as a teacher with the Columbus School
System after 33 years. She was well known for
the homemade cheese straws.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded
in death by her husband, William Druary Land.
Survivors include sons, John Land and his
wife Ana G. Land and Bill Land; grandchildren,
Levi John Land and his wife Shelby Lynn West
Land, Drew Land, Kate Land, Jake Land and Ana
Marie Pool; great-grandchildren, Brayden Land,
Abbigail Land, Kellianna Land, Josiah Pool and
Elijah Pool.
Memorials may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church, 318 College Street, Columbus, MS 39701
or the charity of your choice.
14, 1933, to Lester and Lucile
Farley (Allen) in Baileyton, AL,
the eldest of three girls. She
graduated from Emma Samson
High School in 1952.
Marie proudly served in the Air Force as a
teletype operator in Wyoming and the Pentagon.
Marie returned to Columbus, MS in 1969 as a
Computer Specialist at Columbus Air Force Base.
During her career, she received many awards to
include multiple Federal Woman of the Year for
her outstanding performance. Marie retired in
1992 to enjoy life on Tibbe Creek with her beloved
Ivan Lewis. Marie was an avid gardener, cook,
and life member of Beta Sigma Phi Torchbearer
Alpha sorority.
Marie is survived by her daughter, Janet
(Patrick) Riordan of Columbus, MS; son-in-
law, John Pryor of Lebanon, PA; grandchildren,
Joshua Lamb, Loran Pryor Daniels, Ryan
Riordan, Corie Pryor, Sean Riordan; and sister,
Charlsie Smith of Gadsden, AL.
Marie was preceded in death by her parents;
husband, Loran (Pat); daughters, Lori Malone
and Giner Pryor; beloved Ivan Lewis; and sister,
Eleanor Cheeves.
The family will greet friends at a Celebration
of Marie’s Life at a later time in 2021 when it is
safe to gather.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to
Sanctuary Hospice of Tupelo or Dr. Susan Love
Research Foundation (Breast Cancer Research).
Compliments of
Lowndes Funeral Home
www.lowndesfuneralhome.net

Help us help them.

Sign the online guest book at
www.memorialgunterpeel.com
Sign the online guest book at The Humane Society
662-327-3107
www.memorialgunterpeel.com
College Street • Columbus, MS
716 Second Avenue North • Columbus, MS
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 5A

TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday, Dec. 24, the
359th day of 2020. There are seven
days left in the year. This is Christ-
mas Eve.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 24, 1814, the United
States and Britain signed the
Treaty of Ghent, which ended the
War of 1812 following ratification
by both the British Parliament and
the U.S. Senate.
On this date:
In 1524, Portuguese navigator
Vasco da Gama — who had discov-
ered a sea route around Africa to
India — died in Cochin, India.
In 1851, fire devastated the
Library of Congress in Washing-
ton, D.C., destroying about 35,000
volumes.
In 1865, several veterans of
the Confederate Army formed
a private social club in Pulaski,
Tennessee, that was the original
version of the Ku Klux Klan.
SOURCE: AP

Obits
Continued from Page 4A

Melvin Barnes
COLUMBUS — Mel-
vin J. Barnes, died Dec.
15, 2020.
Graveside services
will be at
11 a.m.
Saturday,
in Memori-
al Gardens
Ceme-
tery of
Starkville.
Barnes
West
Memo-
rial Funeral Home of
Starkville is in charge
of arrangements.
He is survived by
his children, Michael
Anthony Barbour, Tay-
lor James Barnes and
Nicholas James Barnes;
and siblings, Janette
Elise Bishop and Clifton
Boyd Bishop Jr.
Kamden Franklin
SULLIGENT, Ala. —
Infant Kamden Frank-
lin died Dec. 22, 2020,
at Northwest Medical
Center of Winfield,
Alabama.
Funeral services are
at 1 p.m. today, at Otts
Funeral Home Chapel,
with John Bridges offici-
ating. Burial will follow
in the Gilmer Addition
of Sulligent City Cem-
etery. Visitation is one
hour prior to services
at the funeral home.
Otts Funeral Home of
Sulligent is in charge of
arrangements.
Infant Franklin was
born Dec. 10, 2020, in
Sheffield, Alabama,
to John Franklin and
Savana Bridges.
In addition to his par-
ents, he is survived by
his siblings, J.D. Frank-
lin, Greyson Franklin,
Jaxton Pratt, Kaydence
Miles, Raelin Miles,
Kinslin Logan and Lillie
Pratt.
Horace Sherman
STARKVILLE —
Horace W. Sherman, 70,
died Dec. 19, 2020.
Graveside services
will be at 11 a.m. Sat-
urday, in First Baptist Georgia and Lamprey Annie Stark, Zella
Longview Church Wilson of Starkville. Devine, Helen Edwards,
Cemetery. Visitation Beatrice Edwards, R. L.
will be from 9-10 a.m. at Bob Jackson Jr. Brown, Robert Brown,
West Memorial Funeral BROOKSVILLE — Gerald Brown, Nelson
Home. West Memo- Bob Jackson Jr., 85, Edwards, Bobby Joe Ed-
rial Funeral Home of died Dec. 18, 2020, in wards, Larry Edwards,
Starkville is in charge Columbus. David Edwards and
of arrangements. Graveside services Jessie Brown.
He is survived by his will be at 11 a.m. Sun-
siblings, Ozzie Sher- day, in Brooksville Cem- Thomas Terrell
man, Rosie Dell Lamp- etery. Visitation will COLUMBUS —
kin, Ivory Jean Hannah be from noon-6 p.m. at Thomas “Frank” Ter-
and Henry Sherman. West Memorial Funeral rell, 67, died Dec. 22,
Home. West Memo- 2020, at his residence.
Ella Hamilton rial Funeral Home of Funeral services will
STARKVILLE — Starkville is in charge be at 2 p.m. Saturday,
Ella B. Hamilton, 77, of arrangements. at Ethelsville Baptist
died Dec. 13, 2020. he is survived by Church. Burial will
A private funeral his children, Virginia follow in Forrest Ceme-
service will be held at Dooley, Bobby Jackson, tery. Lowndes Funeral
1 p.m. Sunday at West Patricia Jackson, Vickie Home of Columbus is
Memorial Funeral Pope, Carlos Jackson in charge of arrange-
Home Chapel. Visita- and Kelvin Harris; and ments.
tion will be from 2-6 sister, Ada Jackson.
p.m. Saturday, at the
funeral home. West Me- Mary Davis Bobby Harcrow
morial Funeral Home of COLUMBUS — Bob-
STARKVILLE —
Starkville is in charge Mary Edwards Da-
by Harcrow, 75, died
of arrangements. Dec. 23, 2020, at his
vis,67, Dec. 18, 2020.
She is survived by residence.
Graveside services
her children, Debra Arrangements are
will be at 1 p.m. Sunday,
McKinney, Daphane in Spring Hill Church incomplete and will be
Beckum, Kimmy Cemetery. Visitation announced by Lown-
McKinney, Stanley will be from 4-6 p.m. des Funeral Home of
McKinney, Cedric Saturday, at West Me- Columbus.
Ferguson and Michael morial Funeral Home.
McKinney. West Memorial Funeral Gary Tilley
Home of Starkville is ETHELSVILLE,
Annie Sherman in charge of arrange- Ala. — Gary Tilley, 56,
STARKVILLE — ments. died Dec. 24, 2020, at
She is survived by Baptist Memorial Hos-
Annie P. Sherman, 64,
her children, Crystal pital-Golden Triangle.
died Dec. 14, 2020, in
Hattiesburg. Edwards-Ellis, Rolando Arrangements are
Graveside services Edwards and Miesha incomplete and will be
will be at 2 p.m. Sat- Edwards; and siblings, announced by Lown-
urday, in First Baptist Minnie Brown, Fannie des Funeral Home of
Longview Church Brown, Odessa Brown, Columbus.
Cemetery, with the
Rev. Larzy Carpenter
officiating. Visitation
is from 1-4 p.m. today,
at Hairston and Hair-
ston Funeral Home.
Hairston and Hair-
ston Funeral Home of
Starkville is in charge
of arrangements.
Mrs. Sherman was
born July 12, 1956, in
Starkville, to Herman
Pastor and the late
Pearlie Rice. She was
formerly employed as a
custodian and MSU.
She is survived by
her children, Arlecia
Warren of Buford,
Opinion
6A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
THE NATION
Support democracy
by giving Joe Biden
a chance
The election is
over, the votes have
been tallied, and, like
it or not, the Electoral
College has certified Joe
Biden as our new presi-
dent-elect. Whether or
not he was the candidate
you supported, it is time
to move forward with
the business of democ-
racy and accept the final
results of the Electoral Armstrong Williams
College.
Come Jan. 20, 2021, Joe Biden and Kamala
Harris will be sworn in as our newly elected
leaders, and they deserve a chance.
In every election, we want our preferred
candidate to win. But whether they win or lose,
our great country moves forward with a peaceful
transition of power. That is how America con-
ducts itself and democracy works. In the wake
of a hard-fought election season, we must not
lose sight of the fact that, despite our differenc-
es, there is so much more that unites us than
divides us.
Venomous partisanship has been the order of
the day for far too long, and we have a responsi-
bility to bring the temperature down and pursue
civility and mutual respect for all.
Some may find my position shocking, but
it shouldn’t be; after all, we should want our
president to succeed, whether we voted for him
or not. A successful presidency is good for the
country, good for democracy and good for us as
Americans.
Joe Biden is a qualified candidate for the
job. He has decades of government experience,
having first been elected to the U.S. Senate
in November 1972. He was sworn into office
at 30, becoming the sixth-youngest senator in
U.S. history, and one of only 18 who took office
before turning 31. Biden was reelected six times
before he was elected vice president in Novem-
ber 2008. He served as second in command for
eight years.
In other words, he knows the job, has deep
experience within the White House and is pre-
ceded by a reputation rooted in statesmanship,
kindness and decency. Perhaps most important-
ly, he has demonstrated a willingness and ability
to reach across the aisle and has a long history
of collaboration with Democrats and Republi-
cans alike.
Our country is in the throes of crisis.
COVID-19 continues to sweep the nation,
infecting millions and killing more than 320,000
Americans. Millions have lost their jobs, and the
jobless are now behind in their rent and utility
payments. The possibility of mass evictions
looms. Sadly, food distribution lines have be-
come a common sight.
We need strong and steady leadership, and
I sincerely hope that Joe Biden will be able to
deliver it.
Lost in the fray and the friction is the historic
nature of Biden-Harris ticket.
We should not lose sight of the fact that
Senator Kamala Harris, by stepping into the role
of vice president, is shattering a glass ceiling
for women. Her ascendance to this post is a
historic event worth celebrating, no matter your
party affiliation. Not only will America have its
first female vice president, but she will also be a
woman of color.
By her election alone, Harris is showing the
women and girls in this country that if you are
willing to work hard and dream big, then there
is still the chance to succeed in America. We are
a nation of people from wide-ranging back-
grounds, and our new administration reflects
this diversity.
For all the people who are rooting against
Biden, I urge you to rethink your position. Set
aside your frustration and hostility and con-
sider that when you root against a duly elected
president, you are rooting against the democrat-
ic process. Sadly, during the early days of his
presidency, many people spoke openly of their
hopes that President Donald Trump would fail,
but he succeeded nonetheless.
These are challenging times, and we need
to lift one another up instead of knocking one
another down. And despite the ravages of
COVID-19, the millions of people out of work
and the looming threat of more economic hard-
ship, I believe that we can get through every-
thing if we stand together and put our differenc-
es aside.
A new year awaits, and I ,for one, hope that
it will be a far cry better than the one we have
endured. I’m rooting for America and believe
that we shall ultimately prevail.
Armstrong Williams is an American political
commentator, entrepreneur, author, and talk show
host.
Local journalism matters
Support The Dispatch by
subscribing or advertising
662-328-2424 or cdispatch.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Proposes honoring new
Mississippi heros
With the recent news of Virginia
removing their statue of Robert
E. Lee from the U.S. Capitol, I am
once again calling on Mississip-
pians to reconsider our statues in
Statuary Hall. Just like one has to
ask why Robert E. Lee best rep-
resents Virginia, why do we still
feel that Jefferson Davis and J.Z.
George best represent Mississippi?
And why is the act of replacing of a
statue such an insult as opposed to
the honoring of another hero? New
paintings cannot be displayed if we
do not take down the old ones. New
heroes cannot emerge if only the
values and talents of old heroes are
considered. I know many people
may not agree with the reasons
why we should remove Confederate
statues, but our values and prior-
ities change over time. Who we
honor today is a reflection of us, not
just the individual being honored.
Every state needs to consider this
from time to time. Think about
who is not represented in the U.S.
Capitol building: Clara Barton,
Jonas Salk, Jane Addams, Eli Whit-
ney, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood
Marshall. From Mississippi: Elvis
Presley, William Faulkner, Ida B.
Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar
Evers, Walter Payton and Eudora
Welty. Are they not heroes, too?
Nichole Cancellare
Columbus
Hopes for better year and for
more information out of China
Last year around this time, I
was excited and ready to embrace
the year 2020 primarily because of
its numbers and the way it sounds.
I told my optician daughter-in-law
in Dallas jokingly that the year
2020 can be a special year for her
practice and provide a good vision
of 20/20 to all her patients. On the
contrary, the year 2020 tuned out to
be detrimental for the entire world.
Coronavirus snatched happiness,
health, freedom, progress, and live-
lihood of millions of people around
the world. It has severely affected
the economy and education every-
where. As the year is ending the
lethal effects of COVID-19 are on
the all-time high. Scientists all over
the world worked around the clock
to come up with several vaccines
in a record time, that we all are
hoping can put a lid on this deadly
virus soon. Throughout the year as
we turned our TVs on, all we heard
— and are hearing now — is the
number of COVID cases, death toll,
and progress in vaccine develop-
ment in different parts of the world.
“COVID-19,” “social-distancing,”
“mask” and “vaccine” became some
of the keywords for the year 2020.
Initially the focus was on China,
where this virus originated. But
now it is very surprising that China
is no more in the news when it
comes to this virus. No one knows
what is happening in China today in
terms of COVID cases, its current
death toll, and vaccination of people
there. Did they develop their own
vaccine before anyone did, and as a
result they could control this virus?
Media is completely silent, social
media and politicians are also silent
when it comes to the current status
of COVID in China. Since this virus
Dispatch
The
has disrupted so many lives, result-
ing in the loss of trillions of dollars
in the economy world over, it is
obvious that people want to know
what is happening in China today,
where not only this virus originated
but is also the home of most people
in any single country on the earth.
As we are ready to welcome 2021,
let’s hope that sour memories of
2020 soon will be a thing of the
past.
Ghanshyam D. Heda
Columbus
Dismayed over handling
of Middle East
In his quest to promote peace in
the Middle East, President Trump
has managed to surprise me. I had
thought that he would stick to his
vision of pulling our troops out of
the Middle East, leaving a region,
if not happy with us, at least not
enraged. But he is much more
subtle. He has pardoned four men
convicted of murdering Iraqis while
working as private contractors
(Blackwater mercenaries) in that
country in an event the Iraqis see
as a massacre. Iraqis are in riot.
This part of the peace process is
so subtle that how it is supposed to
help is completely beyond me. I had
thought that the abandonment of
the Kurds (our allies against ISIS in
Syria) to the reprisals from Turkey
to be an aberration, as it crushed
any trust in the promises of the
USA (Hungary in 1956 being long
forgotten). I had thought that the
cavalier treatment of the Sahrawi
people in western Sahara to be an
isolated incident. Now I realize
that they were part of a bigger
picture—a tapestry of peace for
the entire region. I wish I had the
wisdom to understand it.
Bill Gillmore
Columbus
Thinks President should
have been more involved
in negotiations
Another day, another outrage.
President Trump took no active
role in the feverish negotiations
to finally, finally arrive at another
Covid-19 relief bill, months in the
making. Yet, after all the consid-
erable effort the past week not to
mention the money in salaries paid,
etc., we learn the President had
a video slamming the bill — no
matter how it turned out — in his
pocket the whole time, one in which
threatened a veto instead of a signa-
ture. This he thoughtfully released
by tweet after everyone thought the
deal was complete and everyone
in Congress had gone home for
the holidays. Sure, he was trying
to get Congress to cut loose with
more money for struggling families
and small businesses but wouldn’t
it have been better to voice this
opinion through active involvement
beforehand?
I challenge his supporters to
explain how this behavior makes
sense. And don’t even get me start-
ed on his list of pardons. He’s fine
with blowing up the long-sought
help for struggling American fam-
ilies and potentially shutting down
the government as well (distribu-
tion of both vaccines just one of the
countless things put on hold in that
case).
PETER BIRNEY IMES Editor/Publisher
BIRNEY IMES III Editor/Publisher 1998-2018
BIRNEY IMES JR. Editor/Publisher 1947-2003
BIRNEY IMES SR. Editor/Publisher 1922-1947
ZACK PLAIR, Managing Editor
BETH PROFFITT Advertising Director
MICHAEL FLOYD Circulation/Production Manager
MARY ANN HARDY Controller
Even more stunning is the fact
that this President is either careless
or clueless about the horrible near-
Christmas-Eve optics of simultane-
ously handing huge gifts to eth-
ics-free family and political pals on
his way out the door to Mar-a-Lago
But why should we be surprised
with the Presidential bull still loose
in the national china shop..
Paul Mack
Columbus
Calls out columnist over Pelosi
claims
In a column this week, Patrick
Buchanan states that in announcing
the $900 billion bill to deal with the
pandemic, Pelosi did not mention
the gifts for her (our) distressed
countrymen and women at Christ-
mas would have been twice as large
had she taken Trump’s offer of $1.8
trillion in October.
And you, Pat, didn’t mention that
the House, led by Nancy Pelosi,
earlier on Oct. 1, had passed a bill
of $2.2 trillion that Trump and the
Republicans said no to. McConnell
said he didn’t want to spend tril-
lions more on the pandemic.
Democrats say Treasury De-
partment delays cost thousands of
aviation jobs, as many as 16,500.
The money was to be used to pay
the workers through the end of
September.
The delay forced the contractors
to lay their workers off, and when
they did get the money, they didn’t
hire the workers back. Dirty! Dirty!
Dirty!
Now on Tuesday night Trump
wants everyone to get $2,000 stimu-
lus, $4,000 for couples.
Nancy Pelosi and AOC push to
take Trump up on offer.
Mr. President: Sign the bill to
keep the government open. Urge
McConnell and McCarthy to agree
with the Democrats’ unanimous
consent request for $2,000 direct
payments.
The Trump leaves Washington
in limbo. He heads off to Mar-a-
Largo after dropping the COVID
bill grenade. Nobody in the White
House or on Capitol Hill knows
what Trump’s plan is, or if he has
one.
More on holding our democracy
together:
n As Trump meets with QA-
non influencers, those conspiracy
therosy adherents beg for dictator-
ship, urging him to cross the rubi-
con, in reference to Julius Caesar
effectively kick-starting the Roman
civil war and Caesar’s dictatorship,
n White supremacists were
plotting to attack the US power grid
over Trump’s loss.
n Pastor who disregarded
COVID-19 restrictions citing faith
over fear loses both parents.
n Giuliani, Trump’s personal
lawyer, was told to prepare for im-
minent legal action from Dominion
voting systems.
Until the conservative writers
like Mr. Buchanan, the Republi-
cans, and our religious leaders
start dealing with facts instead of
satisfying Trump, it’s going to be
on the shoulders of Biden and the
Democrats to hold our democracy
together. It appears the Republican
party is all about a cult.
James Hodges
Steens
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 7A

Isabelle Altman/Dispatch Staff

Registered Nurse Ashley Perry administers the first dose of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine to Pulmonologist and
Critical Care Dr. Gaurav Dutta at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle on Wednesday afternoon. Baptist
received 500 doses of the vaccine Wednesday and began vaccinating its staff most likely to come in contact with
COVID-19 patients.

Vaccine
Continued from Page 1A
give the vaccine to staff
members with the high-
est risk of coming into
contact with COVID-19.
After the staff members
received their shot, they
moved to a waiting area
in the room to schedule
a follow-up appointment
for about 28 days later to
receive a second dose of
the vaccine.
That included Dr.
Gaurav Dutta, who re-
ceived the first dose of
the vaccine. He said he
barely felt the shot at all.
He is much more con-
cerned about the virus’
effect at the hospital,
where, as a pulmonol-
ogist and critical care
doctor, he works directly
with COVID-19 patients.
“At this point, I think
we are in the thickest of
it,” he said. “I don’t think
it’s been this bad all year
long, and we are actively
being bombarded with
people who are really, re-
ally sick. We probably are
experiencing the worst of
COVID right now.”
Mississippi State De-
partment of Health re-
ported 2,634 new cases
of the virus around the
state on Tuesday alone,
and Lowndes County has
seen 3,913 cases since
the pandemic began in
March.
Doctors at Baptist said
those numbers are why it
is so critical for people to
take the vaccine as it be-
comes available.
“We want everyone to
develop immunity,” Bap-
tist Director of Pharmacy
Eli Hilton said. “If not,
you’re going to be at risk
for infection, not only for
yourself but to infect oth-
er people when you get it.
It’s going to take a long
time to develop herd im-
munity if we just wait for
everyone to get it. But if
enough people get this
vaccine, that’ll mean we
can go back to living like
normal sooner.”
Reed said there are
two factors that will
make that happen: the
availability of the vaccine
— Hilton said he hopes
the vaccine will become
available for the gener-
al public in the Golden
Triangle in the spring —
and compliance. In other
words, people have to be
willing to be vaccinated.
“If we don’t vaccinate
a significant number of
people, we won’t make a
difference,” Reed said.
“We won’t be able to win
the battle.”
Though the vaccine
was passed under emer-
gency use rather than
going through the usual
FDA approval process,
Reed said, more than
100,000 people partic-
ipated in clinical trials
for the five or six com-
panies that are working
on a vaccine, including
Moderna and Pfizer, the
other COVID-19 vaccine
the FDA has given emer-
gency use clearance. In
those trials, the vaccines
were shown to be 90 per-
cent effective against the
virus, which is better
than the annual flu shot,
he said.
Still he worries there
is a lot of distrust among
the COVID-19 vaccines
and vaccines in general
due to a lack of informa-
tion.
That’s one of the rea-
sons he got vaccinated.
After being a doctor in
the community for 45
years, he feels people will
be reassured if they know
he’s taken it.
“I know a lot of people
in this community who re-
spect my opinion because
it’s based on science,” he
said. “It’s not based on
politics. It’s not based on
anything but facts.”

Gulf Coast at risk of severe storms ahead of holidays

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS — More than
4 million people near the U.S.
Gulf Coast will be at risk of severe
storms just ahead of the holidays,
forecasters said.
Damaging winds will be one of
the main threats, along with the
possibility of a few tornadoes, ac-
cording to the national Storm Pre-
diction Center.
The storms are expected to move
through Wednesday afternoon and
Wednesday night.
Forecasters say the area most
likely to see strong storms Wednes-
day afternoon and Wednesday
night includes the southern por-
tions of Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama.
The region includes New Orle-
ans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana;
the Gulfport-Biloxi area in Missis-
sippi; and the Mobile metropolitan
area in Alabama.
In Birmingham, Alabama, city
officials say they will open a warm-
ing station in an auditorium on
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and
the day after Christmas to provide
shelter for homeless people during
the freezing temperatures expect-
ed during the holiday period. Low
temperatures are expected to drop
below 20 degrees (minus 6.7 Cel-
sius) in the Birmingham area by
early Saturday, according to the Na-
tional Weather Service.
As the system moves east, se-
vere storms will be possible in Flor-
ida, Georgia and the Carolinas on
Christmas Eve.

Stocks slightly get a vote in the Republi- can help the world begin to ment said fewer U.S. work-
can-held Senate. return to normal. ers filed for unemployment
higher on shortened The hope has been that Meanwhile the U.S. benefits last week. The
trading day Trump will back away from economy continues to de- number is still incredibly
NEW YORK — Stocks his veto threat and the teriorate under widespread high compared with before
were mildly higher on stimulus package might coronavirus outbreaks, the pandemic, but it was
Christmas Eve morning tide the economy over un- infections and hospitaliza- better than economists
trading, despite President til widespread vaccinations tions. The Labor Depart- were expecting.
Donald Trump’s threat not
to sign a major economic
stimulus package approved
by Congress this week.
Trading was light as it is
an abbreviated trading ses-
sion. Trading on the New
York Stock Exchange and
the Nasdaq will end at 1
p.m. ET, and will be closed
Friday for the Christmas
holiday.
The S&P 500 index was
up 0.2% in early trading,
led higher by telecommu-
nications and technology
companies. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average was up
52 points to 30,182, rough-
ly 0.2% as well. The Nasdaq
composite was up 0.4%.
Investors continue to
turn their eyes to Wash-
ington, where Democrats
in Congress is expected
to try to make alterations
to the $900 billion COVID
stimulus bill that President
Trump has threatened to
veto. Trump has asked
for higher individual pay-
ments to Americans, some-
thing Democrats seem to
support but is unlikely to
8A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
Sports Mississippi State Softball
SPORTS LINE
662-241-5000
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
B
SECTION

Shortstop Madisyn Kennedy is one beneficiary

of Mississippi State softball’s hitting tools
BY THEO DEROSA
tderosa@cdispatch.com

M
adisyn Kennedy still wanted her glove.
When the Mississippi State softball team held a day of
hitting competitions for players to “win” their new gloves
for the 2021 season, Kennedy didn’t hit the mark right away and
had to watch each of her teammates claim their prizes before her.
Her new glove, white with a maroon pocket — an inversion of last
year’s colors — would have to wait.
Frustrated, the slick-fielding shortstop initially asked head
coach Samantha Ricketts for a defensive competition the follow-
ing day to prove herself. But an hour later, after leaving practice,
she texted Ricketts again.
“Give me that same challenge,” Kennedy told her coach. “I’m
going to get it.”
At the next day’s practice, she did, achieving the personalized
benchmark the Bulldogs hoped for: 60 percent of her swings
clocked in above her average bat speed.
“I just wanted to prove it to myself — not necessarily other
people — that I am capable of doing this if I really put my mind to
it and not give up,” Kennedy said.
Her success is just one example of how the analytical tools
Mississippi State has at its disposal has helped Kennedy and
plenty of other hitters tap into their unrealized potential at the
plate.
“I will always love defense, but the technology that we have
been using has really shown me that I can make improvements if
I really put myself to the test hitting-wise,” Kennedy said.

‘Where did that come from?’

When Kennedy first arrived at Mississippi State from Mont-
gomery, Alabama, she had a conception of who she was and who
she wasn’t. That, Ricketts said, had to change.
“She came in thinking of herself as just this defensive player,”
See KENNEDY, 3B

Courtesy of Laura Parsley/MSU Athletics

Mississippi State shortstop Madisyn Kennedy has reason to jump for joy after making significant strides on offense in Starkville. Kennedy increased her average exit veloc-
ity by 13.5 mph and her maximum bat speed by 12.3 mph.

NBA

OKC-Houston game postponed, Creighton hands Xavier

Harden out after COVID violation
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON — The James Hard-
en soap opera in Houston now
comes with a canceled season
opener — and a $50,000 fine for
the league’s leading
scorer.
Houston’s opener
against the Oklaho-
ma City Thunder on
Wednesday night
was scrapped after
coronavirus cases
and Harden’s vio- Harden
lation of the NBA’s
COVID-19 protocols left the Rock-
ets without the league-mandated
eight players available to start a
game.
It was a dispiriting blow to the
NBA on just the second night of an
uncertain season launching with
the pandemic still raging.
The NBA announced the post-
ponement in a release that said
three Rockets players had re-
turned tests that were either pos-
itive or inconclusive and that four
other players were quarantined be-
cause of contract tracing.
The release also said that Hard-
en was unavailable for the game
because of a violation of health and
safety protocols after video of the
disgruntled star surfaced on so-
cial media where he was without a
mask at a crowded party in a pri-
vate event space Monday night.
The league later announced the
fine for Harden, saying the proto-
cols prohibit attending indoor so-
cial gatherings of 15 or more peo-
ple or entering bars, lounges, clubs
or similar establishments.
Already a distraction to the
team amid months of rumors that
he wants to be traded, Harden’s
latest move potentially threatened
the health and safety of his team
and kept the Rockets from begin-
ning their season.
The drama began when reports
surfaced that Harden and Russell
Westbrook both wanted out of
Houston. The Rockets dealt West-
brook to the Wizards earlier this
month after just one disappointing
season in exchange for John Wall
and a future first-round pick.
That move did nothing to quell
the reports that Harden still want-
ed to be traded, and the scrutiny
only intensified when the 2018
MVP didn’t report to camp on time.
While the rest of the Rockets were
preparing for the season, Harden
was photographed partying in At-
lanta at a rapper’s birthday party
and at a nightclub in Las Vegas.
He finally arrived in Houston
but missed the team’s first two
preseason games under new coach
Stephen Silas while going through
the league’s COVID-19 testing pro-
tocol. Harden rejoined a team that
looked quite a bit different than the
one which lost to the Lakers in the
Western Conference semifinals
this summer.
Houston has 16 players on its
roster; with seven dealing with
tests or quarantine and one hurt.
That would have left eight eligible
players, which is the league mini-
mum to start a game. Harden’s un-
See HOUSTON, 3B
its first loss of season
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OMAHA, Neb. — Antwann Jones and Denzel Ma-
honey scored 13 points each to lead No. 13 Creighton
to a 66-61 win over 22nd-ranked Xavier on Wednesday,
handing the Musketeers their first loss of
the season.
The Bluejays used an 8-0 run to start
the second half to open up a 44-34 lead
before the Musketeers (8-1, 1-1 Big East)
cut it to 64-61 with 10 seconds left on
Paul Scruggs’ 3-pointer. Creighton in-
bounded the ball to Jones, but the soph-
omore transfer from Memphis made an Jones
ill-advised decision to throw the basket-
ball away after getting trapped along the
baseline.
Adam Kunkel ran it down for Xavier,
but his 3-pointer from the left wing was
long off the back of the rim and bounced
around a crowd of players before landing
in Jones’ hands for Creighton. He stepped
to the free throw line and made both Mahoney
shots to atone for his mental error on the
previous play and the Bluejays (7-2, 3-1) prevailed.
Neither team shot extremely well in the second half
as Xavier was 2-for-16 from behind the arc and Creigh-
See CREIGHTON, 4B

FOOTBALL

Saints look to clinch NFC South with victory over Vikings

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
With the NFL opting not
to play a Thursday game on
Christmas Eve, it moved the
prime-time showcase to late af-
ternoon Friday and sent Minne-
sota down to New Orleans.
The game doesn’t have the
same headline-grabbing po-
tential with the Saints (10-4)
unlikely to secure the NFC’s
only playoff bye, which Green
Bay currently owns, and the
Vikings (6-8) not going any-
where. Still, it provides some
noteworthy viewing appeal.
Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook
and New Orleans’ Alvin Ka-
mara have had two of the most
productive seasons of any run-
ning backs. Rookie receiver
Justin Jefferson has been out-
standing for the Vikings as the
replacement for the traded Ste-
fon Diggs.
The Saints have been
staunch on defense much of the
year, and they have quarterback
Drew Brees back — and pre-
sumably not rusty like he was
in his return last week against
the Chiefs.
“You want to be playing your
best football going into the play-
offs,” Brees says, noting that
the Saints still need to clinch
the NFC South ahead of Tampa
Bay (9-5) and can do so with a
win. “The most important fac-
tor right now is for us to win
and win the division, right? And
then, continue to kind of build
on and ascend, going into the
playoffs.”
No. 18 Minnesota is a 7-point
underdog at No. 4 New Orleans.
Merry Christmas, Saints.
SAINTS, 27-16
KNOCKOUT POOL: The Ti-
tans kept us flowing with their
romp past Detroit. Getting
down to the end of available
teams worth taking, but Pro
Picks kept a good one: NEW
ORLEANS.
No. 2 Buffalo (minus 5) at
No. 19 New England, Monday
night
The Bills’ chance to further
erase some of that recent ugly
history vs. the Patriots.
BEST BET: BILLS, 28-19
No. 22 (tie) Philadelphia (mi-
nus 1 1-2) at No. 24 Dallas
Both teams will be eliminat-
ed in NFC East if Washington
wins.
UPSET SPECIAL: COW-
BOYS, 27-24
No. 27 Carolina (plus 2 1-2)
at No. 16 Washington
How sweet for Ron Rivera,
clinching the division against
the team that fired him.
WASHINGTON, 17-16
No. 7 Indianapolis (minus 2
1-2) at No. 10 Pittsburgh
The sky is falling in Steel
City.
COLTS, 19-17
No. 12 Los Angeles Rams
(plus 1 1-2) at No. 6 Seattle
What was that last Sunday
from the Rams? They will show
See SAINTS, 2B
2B THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
COVID, legislation, lawsuits signal change in college sports
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The coronavirus was
only one factor in a chain
of events that consumed
college sports in 2020,
and is poised to do more
of the same in 2021 and
beyond.
The virus, combined
with the harsh spotlight
that shined on racial in-
equality in the United
States, further exposed
the exploitative side of a
system that relies heavily
on Black football and bas-
ketball players to bring in
the bucks.
Against that backdrop,
dueling tranches of legis-
lation and litigation land-
ed in the highest reaches
of Washington — in Con-
gress and the Supreme
Court — fueling a grow-
ing sense that the status
quo is about to be upend-
ed.
“I don’t know if it’s
immediate, or five years
down the road, but I’m
pretty confident that
something’s going to fun-
damentally change,” said
Victoria Jackson, a sports
history professor at Ari-
zona State.
It would mean changes
to an industry that gener-
ates more than $14 billion
a year, mostly from TV,
ticket and sponsorship
deals out of football and
basketball — sports that,
in college, are played in
disproportionate num-
bers by poor, minority
teen-agers who receive
nothing in cash compen-
sation for all the revenue
they produce. That reve-
nue is then used to keep
smaller sports afloat and
athletic departments in
compliance with Title IX
and other regulations that
demand equal access for
women on college cam-
SPORTS BRIEFS
Arizona hires Fisch
as head coach
Arizona has hired New
England Patriots assis-
tant Jedd Fisch as its head
coach.
The school announced
Wednesday that Fisch will
replace Kevin Sumlin, who
was fired earlier this month
after the Wildcats finished
the season winless.
The 44-year-old arrives
in the desert after bounc-
ing between college foot-
ball and the NFL.
He worked at Michigan,
UCLA, Miami and Minne-
sota. This is his first sea-
son as quarterbacks coach
with the Patriots. He pre-
viously worked with Jack-
sonville, Seattle, Denver,
Baltimore and Houston.
Fisch takes over an
Arizona program in disar-
ray. The Wildcats ended
the 2019 season on a sev-
en-game losing streak and
went 0-5 this year.
n MONROE, La. —
Former Auburn coach Ter-
ry Bowden has been hired
by Louisiana-Monroe to re-
build a program that went
0-10 this season.
Bowden, the son of for-
mer Florida State coaching
great Bobby Bowden, has
been serving as a graduate
assistant at Clemson the
last two years. He replaces
Matt Viator, who was fired
earlier this month after
five seasons.
Terry Bowden, 64, had
a successful stint as Au-
burn’s head coach from
1993-98, going 47-17. That
came to a tumultuous end
with a midseason firing.
n NEW YORK — Tulsa
linebacker Zaven Collins
has won the Bronko Na-
gurski Trophy honoring
the nation’s best defensive
player.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound
Collins totaled 54 tackles
and 11.5 tackles for loss
and four interceptions.
The junior had three sacks
against Oklahoma State.
Two of his interceptions
were game-clinchers — a
late one against SMU and a
96-yard return for a touch-
down against Tulane in
overtime.
— Source: AP
puses.
The most existential
threat to the system in
2020: the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
With the virus raging
in March, several confer-
ences called off their post-
season basketball tour-
naments, and the NCAA
canceled the billion-dollar
bonanza known as March
Madness, proceeds from
which trickle down in
some form to almost ev-
ery Division I school in
America.
The debate then
switched to how to make
football work, and though
hundreds of games were
played as scheduled, the
2020 season has landed
somewhere between dis-
jointed and disappointing
— filled with empty stadi-
ums, dozens of canceled
contests and incomplete
seasons that deprived the
players of the experience
they’d signed up for while
placing them in almost
constant danger.
“Organized chaos,”
is what Mike Marlow,
the athletic director at
Northern Arizona, called
it. “I do think that we saw
young people and coach-
es and administrators
really understand what
we missed. What I saw in
young people’s faces and
coaches, you realize what
you miss, seeing young
people accomplish their
goals.”
While all efforts were
made to save the football
season and get the 2020-
21 basketball season un-
derway, 2020 featured a
steady stream of news
about universities’ plans
to drop their so-called
Olympic programs — in-
volving smaller sports
such as wrestling and
gymnastics and fencing
Saints
Continued from Page 1B
up this time.
RAMS, 20-17
No. 5 Tennessee (plus
3 1-2) at No. 3 Green Bay
Lambeau in January?
The Packers are having
sweet dreams of staying
home for the playoffs.
PACKERS, 26-24
No. 21 New York Gi-
ants (plus 11) at No. 9
Baltimore
Suddenly, the Ravens
are rolling and look dan-
gerous for January.
RAVENS, 30-16
No. 25 San Francisco
(plus 5) at No. 14 Arizo-
na, Saturday
The Cardinals are
creeping closer to the
postseason.
CARDINALS, 27-20
No. 13 Miami (minus
3) at No. 17 Las Vegas,
Saturday
So are the Dolphins,
maybe a year ahead of
expectations.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
that don’t produce reve-
nue for the schools (but
do help form the back-
bone of the U.S. Olympic
team.)
As 2020 came to a
close, there were at least
116 Division I programs
at 34 schools slated for
the chopping block, with
that number expected to
grow. A debate was brew-
ing about whether there
was a true financial need
to drop the programs or
if the schools were mere-
ly using the pandemic as
a convenient excuse to
make moves they’d want-
ed to make for a long time.
“I think the glory
days of college athletics
as we’ve known it may
be over,” said longtime
college insider Chuck
Neinas, discussing the
possible end of the Olym-
pic sports model as it cur-
rently runs in colleges,
in an interview with the
National Football Founda-
tion.
The debate spilled
into full view at Stan-
ford, where hundreds of
alumni were hoping to
reverse an administration
decision to strip 11 sports
from one of the country’s
most robust college pro-
grams.
“By cutting sports,
you’re not solving the un-
derlying problem,” said
Olympic fencer and Stan-
ford grad Alex Massialas,
who is leading the effort
to restore the sports at
his alma mater. “Stan-
ford’s financial problems,
and them running a defi-
cit, was something that
happened well before the
virus started.”
According to Stanford,
the athletic department’s
deficit had been project-
ed to exceed $12 million
in fiscal 2021; after the
DOLPHINS, 28-22
No. 11 Tampa Bay (mi-
nus 9 1-2) at No. 26 De-
troit, Saturday
The Lions can score
just enough to keep this
close without winning.
BUCCANEERS, 27-20
No. 29 Atlanta (plus
12) at No. 1 Kansas City
The Falcons can score
just enough to keep this
close without winning.
CHIEFS, 33-23
No. 8 Cleveland (mi-
nus 9 1-2) at No. 31 New
York Jets
Sorry, J-E-T-S, we’re
just not buying another
shocking victory.
BROWNS, 31-10
No. 30 Cincinnati
(plus 8) at No. 28 Hous-
ton
Seems like a lot of
points for such a weak
team to lay, even against
another tail-ender.
TEXANS, 22-16
pandemic hit, that was es. A decision is expected abama-Clemson playoff
revised to at least $25 mil- in June. matchup for the fifth time
lion. “This case, and I don’t in six years.
Also nearing a tipping think it’s overstating The TV deal for the
point in 2020 were calls it, could fundamentally playoff is worth around
from lawmakers across change the structure of $470 million a year, most
the country for changes college sports and the of which trickles down
in a system that operates relationship between col- to schools via the con-
on the labor of unpaid ath- lege athletes and their ferences. The players re-
letes, who receive schol- schools and conferences,″ ceive none of it directly,
arships but not much said Gabe Feldman, di- but the money keeps the
more. rector of the sports law system running — or at
Competing bills intro- program at Tulane. least the pieces of the sys-
duced in the U.S. Senate Against that backdrop, tem that weren’t disman-
would loosen restrictions 2020 is coming to a close tled in the year of COVID.
on football and basketball in a manner that some “It gives us a chance to
players’ ability to sign critics say is becoming all pause and ask if the big-
endorsement deals and too familiar. time has grown too big,”
cash in on their names, Alabama, Clemson, said Jackson, the Arizona
images and likenesses Ohio State and Notre State professor. “It gives
(NIL). Some states, such Dame were named to us an opportunity to think
as California, Florida and the college football play- about the philosophical
Colorado, have already off — a same-ol’-same-ol’ approach of what playing
passed laws that trigger mix of teams that set up sports in school really
those changes; the fed- the possibility of an Al- looks like.”
eral legislation is an at-
tempt to bring nationwide
uniformity to the effort to
pay players.
One bill, proposed by
Sen. Cory Booker, D-New
Jersey, calls on colleges
to share their profits —
a move that could result
in six-figure salaries for
football and men’s basket-
ball players.
Other plans, including
the one formulated by
the NCAA itself, would
give players limited room
to negotiate their own
sponsorship deals. But
that sort of arrangement
has the potential to help
the rich get richer —
star quarterbacks, for
instance, could make six
figures or more — with-
out offering much help to
the average player.
The Supreme Court,
meanwhile, has agreed
for the first time in more
than 30 years to hear a
case involving the NCAA
and its rules about com-
pensating athletes for ed-
ucational-related expens-
No. 15 Chicago (mi-
nus 7 1-2) at No. 32 Jack-
sonville
Now that Trevor Law-
rence can go house-hunt-
ing in Jacksonville ...
BEARS, 22-13
No. 22 (tie) Denver
(plus 3) at No. 20 Los An-
geles Chargers
The QB choices alone,
Justin Herbert and Drew
Lock, have us leaning to
...
CHARGERS, 33-18
2020 Record
Last Week: Straight
up: 11-5. Against spread:
6-8-2
Season: Straight up:
147-75-1. Against spread:
109-98-7
Best Bet: Straight up:
11-4. Against spread: 7-8
Upset Special:
Straight up: 6-9. Against
spread: 6-7-2
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 3B

Kennedy
Continued from Page 1B
Ricketts said. “That was her
specialty. That’s what she
was here to do, and she does
it extremely well. But that
doesn’t mean that we can’t
continue to improve offen-
sively.”
To do that meant introduc-
ing Kennedy to technology
she’d never seen before. The
Bulldogs outfit their bats
with Blast Motion sensors to
measure pre-contact statis-
tics like bat speed, attack
angle, time to contact and
swing quickness and effi-
ciency. The team’s Rapsodo
system measures the ball
after contact: exit velocity,
launch angle, distance and
spin speed and direction.
Such technology, Rick-
etts said, originated in golf
before migrating to baseball.
It has become more popular
in softball, but only recently:
Ricketts never used it as a
player in the National Pro
Fastpitch league.
In the past five years,
“I don’t know about this,”
Kennedy thought.
But when she realized the
Bulldogs’ use of analytics
was more about gradual prog-
ress than immediate results,
she began to buy in.
This spring, Kennedy had
an offensive season Ricketts
admitted was “a little unex-
pected” in a 2020 campaign
shortened by COVID-19. She
posted a .354 average in 24
games with three homers
and three doubles.
“Whoa, where did that
come from?” Kennedy
thought to herself when she
saw her newfound hitting
prowess.
But her teammates and
Mississippi State’s coaching
staff weren’t surprised: The
improvement was what they
hoped for all along.
“For her, just seeing that
little bit of success and start-
ing to realize that, ‘Hey, I
could be a really great hitter
strength and conditioning see their progress and make
coach Stephanie Mock adjustments in real time.
and athletic trainer Macy Kennedy said she’ll look at
Simoneaux. Tests and the readout to see where her
measurements in the weight numbers might fall short,
room with Mock and On- and she can usually tell
BaseU mobility screens with where something is wrong in
Simoneaux help prepare play- her swing.
ers for the drills they’ll face.
Kennedy — who habitually
“What we’re trying to do is “more of a feel person,”
is really create a complete she said — can intuit what’s
picture of how the athlete wrong as well as interact with
moves,” Ricketts said. real data about her swing.
She and hitting coach “I can still feel and see
Tyler Bratton use those data what’s happening at the same
to make adjustments in the time,” she said.
batting cages and run spe-
cialized drills for each batter.
“They’re not doing one
Making strides at the plate
In Bratton’s batting cage
drill, all 18 hitters,” Ricketts
said. “They’re going to do at Mississippi State’s indoor
complex, there sits a board to improvement will continue
what they need, and that’s
going to help them improve which players can add their
names if they win a “home
over time.”
run derby” with weighted
And if each hitter produc-
es, say, a 5 mph increase in plyo balls.
Also popular
Sudokuisisthe
their average exit velocity
(for comparison, freshman angle ladder” — hitting
placing
a number-
puzzle based on
softballs atSudoku
azero,
9x9 grid is
10,
with num-
Paige Cook upped hers 16.7
mph during the fall), it could 30 degreesber-placing
before
given going
numbers.
motivated to follow.
“It was just to prove to
myself that I could do it and
get through the challenges,”
Kennedy said.
She did, making another
improvement in a fall that has
been full of them.
The shortstop is up 12.3
mph in maximum bat speed,
tops on the team. She’s sec-
ond in average exit velocity
with a 13.5 mph increase and
fifth in max exit velo with a
6.6 mph jump.
Already, Kennedy said,
she feels a lot stronger than
she did during a layoff in
the summer and hopes the
into 2021.
No dates have been an-
YESTERDAY’S
nounced for the ANSWER
return to competition, but
Sudoku
Bulldogs’
“launch
Yesterday’s
Kennedy Sudoku
and heranswer
teammates
a several
20
and can’t
5 4 wait 3 for
9 it,
2 whenever
6 8 1 7 it
puzzle object comes.
back
The 6 1 9 7 3 8 4 5 2

2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

and a really great shortstop,’ based
down to zero. onthe
is toWhoever
place a 9x9can
numbers 8“It’s 7 2 been
5 so1 long,”
4 3 9she6
though, the tools have be- make a significant differ-
come more accessible and
it’s been fun to watch her
ence. do it in thegrid
to 9with
1fewest in theseveral
empty spaces
swings is said.
7 9“The 1 8day 4 that
5 2it comes,
6 3
grow,” Ricketts said. given
so that numbers.
each row, The I 4
each think, 5 8will 3 be6 the
2 1best
7 day
9
affordable. Many travel soft- “A ball being caught by an crowned aobject
winner. is
On rainy
days where column
the andtoeach
team
place
is 3x3 the
stuck box ever.”
2 3 6 1 9 7 5 8 4
ball organizations use it so outfielder is now going off numbers
From off the wall to over it contains
inside, Ricketts andthe1her
to 9 number
same in
staffso 1Whenever 6 4 2 5that 9 first
7 3 8
devoutly that some recruits the wall or over it,” Ricketts the empty spaces
It’s not just Kennedy who only once.
pit two batting cages Theagainst
difficulty 9 8 is, 5 Kennedy
4 7 3 will 6 2take
1
come into the Bulldogs’ pro- said. that each row, each game
level increases from
gram with a stronger work- has seen success of late for The immediate results each othercolumn and each
for a friendly 3 2 7 6 8
the field at Nusz Park with 1 9 4 5
Monday
3x3 boxtocontains
Sunday.
ing knowledge than Missis- the Bulldogs. that players see — whether clash. Difficulty Level
strengthened confidence and
12/24

sippi State’s own coaches.
“A lot of times, they un-
derstand it better than we do
when they get here,” Ricketts
said.
Kennedy, though, wasn’t
one such player. The first
time her bat was hooked up
to the motion sensors, she
started overthinking.
From the start of fall work-
outs in September to late No-
vember, most of Mississippi
State’s players saw increases
in categories like exit veloc-
ity and bat speed. Everyone,
Ricketts said, got better in
something.
That’s due to a “joint
effort” between Ricketts,
in practice or in this fall’s in- thecompetitions
It’s these same number only once. The difficulty level
increasesState’s from Monday a newfound
to Sunday.appreciation for
trasquad scrimmages, where among Mississippi
a part of the sport she didn’t
several Blast Motion sensors, players that can help further
always enjoy.
two Rapsodo units and three improvement. Case in point:
When the glove competition “I’m always going to love
iPads were powered up for
use — are integral, Ricketts was down to three Bulldogs, defense. That’s where I have
said. Kennedy watched the last the most fun on the field,”
Through them, the Bull- two players in front of her Kennedy said. “But hitting
dogs have created a “tight win and claim their prizes. has definitely made a step up
immediate feedback loop” to She was happy for them but for me.”

Houston
Continued from Page 1B
availability lowered Houston’s
total of available players to sev-
en.
Houston’s injury report re-
leased Wednesday morning
that Ben McLemore and rook-
ie KJ Martin were not with the
team and were self-isolating
and that DeMarcus Cousins
was questionable because of a
sprained right ankle.
Harden’s since-deleted Ins-
tagram post explaining why he
attended the event in question
would certainly suggest that he
was in violation of the rules.
In the post he wrote: “One
thing after another. I went to
show love to my homegirl at her
event (not a strip club) because
she is becoming a boss and put-
ting her people in a position of
success and now it’s a problem.
Everyday it’s something differ-
ent. No matter how many times
people try to drag my name un-
der you can’t. The real people
always end up on top.”
But for now the eight-time
All-Star is on the shelf after ad-
mitting to breaking the rules
set forth in the protocols.
“In light of the serious and
highly infectious nature of the
coronavirus... individuals must
not engage in activities or con-
duct that a reasonable person
would regard as posing unnec-
essary risk relative to the sig-
nificance (or lack thereof) of
such activity or conduct,” the
protocols say.
Harden, according to the
protocols, may now be ordered
into quarantine and could lose
more than $500,000 for each
game missed because of proto-
col violations.
Houston’s next scheduled
game is Saturday at Portland
and the road trip continues on
Monday in Denver. They’re
next scheduled to play at home
on New Year’s Eve in one of
two straight games against
Sacramento. Houston is one of
only six teams allowing fans
to start the season and it will
be interesting to see how the
home crowd responds to Hard-
en if he’s available to play next
Thursday.
After finishing last season bubble and now we’re trying to
in the bubble, the NBA is now play outside a bubble and these
dealing with more coronavirus are some of the side effects of
issues as all its teams are play- that. ... That will not be the last
ing in their own arenas. Sacra- game that’s postponed due to
mento coach Luke Walton used COVID.”
what happened in Houston as a Oklahoma City also was in-
chance to remind his players to volved in the March 11 game
be vigilant about following pro- that led to the league shutting
tocols, and Nuggets coach Mi-
down for the coronavirus pan-
chael Malone said he expects
demic; the Thunder were to
more such issues as the season
gets going. have been the home team that
“Not surprised. Just look at night for a game against Utah,
what’s going on in our country, called off when it was learned
around the world. COVID is a Jazz center Rudy Gobert was
lot bigger than the NBA,” he the NBA’s first player to test
said. ”... This is something that positive for COVID-19.
we’ve been dealing with since The Thunder, unwittingly,
the season was shut down last now find themselves part of his-
year. We were forced to play in a tory again.

FRIDAY’S PUZZLES ACROSS

1 Obsessed
The Dispatch will not publish a Friday, December 25, 2020, newspaper, due to the captain
holiday. The Jumble, Word Warp, Crossword, Sudoku and Cryptquote puzzles that would 5 Mexican
have appeared in that edition are printed below. peninsula
9 Inferior
11 Kitchen
come-on
13 Seeing red
14 Marshy area
15 Howl at the
moon
16 Helped in a
heist
18 Christmas
Thursday’s Answer
tree hangers
20 Kimono sash
Thursday’s Cryptoquote: 21 Rival 41 Says further creator
22 Sports figure DOWN 26 Needing
23 TV spots 1 Suspect’s story change
24 Scrooge cry 2 Roman poet 27 Christmas
25 Bar fruit 3 Classic carol dessert
27 Moved a raft 4 Track act 28 Said no to
29 Merkel of 5 Innocent ones 30 Glossy
movies 6 “I smell —!” 31 Blockheads
30 Like body- 7 Classic carol 33 Ranch guest
builders’ bodies 8 One-celled 37 Free TV spot:
32 Hanukkah organism Abbr.
lights 10 Domains
Thursday’s 34 Lennon’s love 12 Filer’s worry
35 Bicker 17 Ottoman ruler
36 Rainy month 19 Hand over
38 Shoe material 22 Store event
39 Key 24 Dwarf tree
40 Difficult trip 25 Yoda’s

Sudoku Thursday’s Answer

Sudoku is a num- 5 4 3 9 2 6 8 1 7
ber-placing puzzle based 6 1 9 7 3 8 4 5 2
2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

on a 9x9 grid with sev-

eral given numbers. The 8 7 2 5 1 4 3 9 6
object is to place the
numbers 1 to 9 in the
7 9 1 8 4 5 2 6 3
empty squares so that 4 5 8 3 6 2 1 7 9
each row, each column 2 3 6 1 9 7 5 8 4
and each 3x3 box con-
tains the same number 1 6 4 2 5 9 7 3 8
only once. The difficul-
ty level increases from 9 8 5 4 7 3 6 2 1
Monday to Sunday. 3 2 7 6 8 1 9 4 5
Difficulty Level 12/24
4B THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Creighton
Continued from Page 1B

ton 3-for-13 in the final 20 min-
utes. The difference was at
the free throw line where the
Bluejays made 11 of 14 down
the stretch after struggling in
closes losses to Kansas and
Marquette. Xavier only got to
the line four times in the sec-
ond half.
For the second game in a
row Creighton struggled from
the 3-point line. They went 7-of-
27 on Sunday afternoon against
Connecticut and 8-of-28 against
the Musketeers. Yet still they
found a way to win both games
late.
“It’s two games in a row -- last
game Marcus (Zegarowski)
and Denzel struggled to shoot
the ball, and today Marcus and
Mitch (Ballock) struggled to
shoot the ball, and in the past
we haven’t been able to figure
out ways to win when that hap-
pened,” Creighton coach Greg
McDermott said.
“That bench is coming and
the depth is being developed. To
run off three (wins) in a row af-
ter the tough loss to Marquette
is a real credit to our guys.”
Xavier opened the game with
22-9 run after knocking down 9
of their first 13 shots. The Mus-
keteers eventually cooled off
and the second unit gave the
Bluejays enough of a spark to
pull ahead 36-34 at halftime.
Jones got Creighton’s of-
fense rolling with 11 points and
two assists in nine minutes off
the bench in the first half.
“Our bench really ignited us
in the first half and got us back
in the game,” McDermott said.
“The starters threw early in the
(second) half to create some
separation, which proved to be
really important.”
Xavier leading scorer Zach
Freemantle was held to seven
points on 3 of 9 shooting. He
fouled out with 2:38 remaining
in the game.
“The foul trouble threw him
out of rhythm,” Xavier coach
Travis Steele said. “When he
picked up two early and was out
for a long time it’s hard to some-
times get back going.”
His absence late created a
big void in the lineup as Xavier
tasted defeat for the first time
all season. The Musketeers are
now 8-1 on the season and 1-1 in
Big East play as they head into
the Christmas break.
Big Picture
Xavier: This was just the sec-
ond road game of the season
for the Musketeers. The first
was at crosstown rival Cincin-
nati. A question of whether that
high-powered offense could
travel with them seemed to be
answer early in the game, but
after they hot start they missed
40 of their final 55 shots.
Creighton: After falling
short in a couple close games
against Kansas and Marquette,
the Bluejays have proven in
their last two games against
Connecticut and Xavier that
they can grind out wins when
everything isn’t clicking on the
offensive end.
Much needed break
The Big East has made sev-
eral changes to their upcom-
ing slate of conference games
in order to get the teams an
extended break over the holi-
day before jumping back into
the heat of the conference ti-
tle race. Based on not only the
shooting numbers, but also the
body language of the players
during, after, and in between
games, it could not come at a
better time as a lot of them have
not seen their families for sev-
eral months due to the isolated
nature of the season.
“My team is tired,” McDer-
mott said. “This is six games in
16 days and they are running on
empty.”
Up next
Xavier continues Big East
play at home against Seton Hall
on Dec. 30.
Creighton will get an extend-
ed holiday break before return-
ing to action at Big East rival
Providence on Jan. 2.

Comics & Puzzles

DILBERT
Dear Abby
D
EAR ABBY: I was going to family know nothing about
I have re- write and tell her our son. He’s afraid to tell
cently found why. Do you think them, although it was before
out that someone this is a good they were born and before he
I thought was a idea? — FURI- was married. Do you think he
good friend is OUS IN FLORIDA should tell everyone? — SE-
the person who DEAR FU- CRET KEEPER IN CALIFORNIA
snitched and got RIOUS: I don’t DEAR SECRET KEEPER:
my daughter in blame you for Yes, I do. As you stated,
serious trou- being upset, but this happened before his
ble at school. an eighth-grader marriage to his late wife, and
Our daughters bringing alcohol your (and his) son should not
ZITS attended the to a school cele- be regarded as a shameful
same preschool, bration is wrong secret. However, I cannot
middle school on many levels. make this decision FOR Allen,
and high school. I do NOT advise and neither should you. If he
Although they Dear Abby putting anything isn’t strong enough to stand
were friends, the in writing. Con- up and stand by his first child,
friendship was more between vey your message and get the then you should reconsider
us moms. answer you want by doing it your relationship with him.
Before middle school directly, face to face. DEAR ABBY: My wife and I
graduation, the students had DEAR ABBY: Thirty years have been married 50-some
an outing at the beach. Some ago, I dated a guy I’ll call years. While we were discuss-
of the girls, my daughter Allen. We had a child together. ing sex and the pandemic,
included, decided to bring Our relationship ended when I she revealed that she could
vodka and orange juice. A few found out I was pregnant. He imagine having sex with some-
GARFIELD days later, my daughter was married a woman he chose one while both of them were
called to the principal’s office over me. I later married some- masked. I said no, the masks
where she was thoroughly one else, whose name is on would become superfluous
reprimanded. Any awards she my child’s birth certificate. and would go just before the
was to receive were rescind- Fast-forward 30 years. We clothes. Who is right? — HY-
ed. I learned from one of the are now back in each other’s POTHETICALLY SPEAKING
teachers that this “friend” is lives. I told my son about his DEAR H.S.: Are you seri-
the person who turned her in. biological father, and they are ous? Your wife gave you some
Why didn’t she come to getting to know each other. valuable information that you
me and tell me? I almost feel Allen has children from his are ignoring. Where is your
like she wanted my daughter marriage, which lasted about sense of humor? Try it. You
to get in trouble. I have run 25 years. His wife is now might like it and discover the
into her a couple of times and deceased. masks stay on until, in the
have been cold and distant, Allen’s two other children heat of passion, they slip off
CANDORVILLE but I want to confront her. and his parents and extended (or not).

Horoscopes
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec.
24). Your focus makes miracles
possible. You’re able to let go
of whatever does not noticeably
contribute to the kind of joyful
living you’re going for. Spring
brings a run of overdue atten-
tion and appreciation. You’ve
worked toward this a long while,
and the reward is fun, but mas-
tering the skill is the fulfilling
BABY BLUES part. Taurus and Aries adore
you. Your lucky numbers are: 8,
11, 39, 16 and 4
ARIES (March 21-April
19). Feelings have a way of
overflowing and spilling all over
the place. In the case of joy,
appreciation, love and comfort,
the mess is such a pleasure it’s
hardly worth cleaning up.
BEETLE BAILEY
MALLARD FILLMORE
FAMILY CIRCUS
TAURUS (April 20-May
20). Your inclusiveness relaxes
people and helps them feel
comfortable enough to con-
nect. Ultimately, the sense of
belonging you promote will wrap
around you like a warm blanket
on a snowy night.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
To notice someone’s nervous-
ness and take that away from
them with your warmth and easy
manner is among the kindest
things you can do today. You’re
the antidote to anxiousness,
and it calms you to be so.
CANCER (June 22-July
22). The deepest levels of you
have little to do with your body
or even personality. You may
get caught up in temporary
attitudes, opinions and adorn-
ments, but you will not confuse
them with who you really are.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ll
make your preparations and
run through your idea about
how things should flow. Without
those moments of fantasy and
forethought, you simply couldn’t
pull off your day in the same
magical way.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
You are endowed with raw
materials — inherent qualities,
resources, ideas — all of which
can be arranged and rearranged
to various effect. You feel it
down deep... the freedom to
create yourself.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
Just as an author’s skill is in
making the reader turn the
page, your skill is making those
close to you wonder what’s
next. You love to play with
expectations and draw out an-
ticipation to its most delectable
tension.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
You’ll emphasize what you want
people to see and know about
you. While you can’t control
what others think, the extent to
which you can effectively lead
their attention will please you
greatly now.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.
21). It’s so easy for you to see
the good in others and nurture
those talents until they gleam.
What’s hard is holding back
your praise, but there’s no
point to that today. Roll out the
enthusiasm!
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). You’ll make a discovery all
on your own and feel supreme-
ly satisfied about it, too. You
could have, after all, given up a
dozen times, but you kept going
instead. You’ve earned this one.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). It seems counterintuitive,
and yet, by tuning in to your
own uniqueness, you somehow
attract like-minded people. It
feels wonderful to be appreciat-
ed without trying hard.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March
20). There are always multiple
ways to work a situation, some
of which will be more fulfilling
(and fun!) than your first ideas.
You can see more options just
as soon as you let go of the
first few.

Morning suit
SOLUTION:
 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 5B

Business
BUSINESS MOVES WITH MARY

Big Dawgs in Starkville closing

PLUS: Tuesday
Morning officially
closed in Columbus
BY MARY POLLITZ
biz@cdispatch.com
Big Dawgs in Starkville will
close by the end of this year.
The barbecue and service
station at 804 Old West Point Road
will be open Thursday through
Saturday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. with all food
products half off.
I’ve already purchased a gallon
of some of the best barbecue sauce
I’ve ever had, and I suggest y’all
hop to it as well.
Owner Yulanda Haddix said the
decision to close was not easy. Her
husband, former Mississippi State
and NFL running back Michael,
recently had brain surgery, leaving
her to a “series of difficult conver-
sations.”
“I can’t run (the store) full time
with him because if he needs more
intense therapy, we need to travel,”
Haddix said. “… In the community,
restaurants and businesses are
shutting down. … Neither of us
wants to see the store disappear.”
She added she is working and
hoping for a business to replace Big
Dawgs with a similar storefront.
As of now, Big Dawgs will close
Dec. 31., but Haddix said that is
subject to change.
We’ve taken a lot of blows this
year and losing good barbecue is
almost too painful to bear.
Luckily, Haddix does not intend
to leave us high and dry. For weeks,
she has
received
an out-
pour from
customers
begging
for her not
to close.
By March,
Haddix
plans to
open a
Mary Pollitz food truck,
traveling
throughout
the Golden Triangle and beyond.
“We’re going to serve all the
food Big Dawgs offers,” Haddix
said. “I’ll also be doing live cook-
ing shows. We’re going to go from
place to place, Starkville one day,
Columbus and maybe West Point.
The idea is to travel all over the
place one day.”
Collaborating barbecue and
Haddix’s Facebook Live cooking
channel, hopefully 2021 will bring
forth the Big Dawgs and Country
Kitchen DJ food truck.
“We’ll be coming to the neigh-
borhoods too,” Haddix said. “It’s
going to be fun stuff. We like the
personal feel, one on one. … I’ve
wanted a food truck forever. I love
the idea and love being in the com-
munity and being able to travel.”
As for Michael and his recovery,
she said, “he’s strong.”
We have added another restau-
rant in Starkville, this time near
Clayton Village.
Pluk’D The Wing Joint, located
at 1685 Sixteenth Section Road,
opened Nov. 30.
Owner Scherell Quinn said she
wants to reach a community that
may not have a lot of food options.
“I decided to open on Sixteenth
Section Road because that area is
basically a community of its own
on the outskirts of Starkville,” she
said. “(Now), residents won’t have
to drive all the way into town to get
wings.”
Be sure to check out the new
wing joint and taste wings, fries,
chicken and waffles and a variety of
sauces.
The dine-in or carry out restau-
rant is open Monday through
Friday 2-8 p.m. and Saturdays 11
a.m.-9 p.m.
Moving to Columbus, Tuesday
Morning has officially closed its
doors.
Earlier this year, Tuesday Morn-
ing announced it would slash its
store locations due to COVID-19.
The big-box retailer in Co-
lumbus will shutter, while the
Starkville location remains open.
Over in Starkville, two big-box
retailers have also permanently
closed their doors. Gordmans,
which opened earlier this year,
has officially shuttered as well as
JCPenney.
Since the pandemic began,
various stores have closed, and to
my surprise others have opened
up. The resiliency and dedication
of some of our local businesses
to remain open has been nothing
short of miraculous. Throughout
this holiday season, when you’re
spending time with your family, be
sure to spread some love to those
locally.
Merry Christmas, wear your
mask and be safe.

BUSINESS BRIEFS
Sacus retires with 35
years of service
WEST POINT — El-
isha Sacus, registered
nurse and house super-
visor at North Mississip-
pi Medical Center-West
Point, has retired with
more than 35 years of ser-
vice.
Born in Aberdeen, Sa-
cus moved with her fami-
ly to Chicago at age 5. She
graduated from Simeon
Vocational High School
in Chicago in 1974 and
worked a few odd jobs be-
fore completing licensed
practical nurse training at
William L. Dawson Skills
Center there in 1980. “I
wanted to join the military
and work with computers,
but my Mom talked me
cal Center)
on Oct.
28, 1985.
“When I came a registered nurse
walked into
the hospi-
tal’s atri-
um for the
Sacus
first time,
I thought
‘this is a beautiful hospi-
tal,’” she said. “I was eat-
ing in the cafeteria one
day and someone pointed
out the hospital admin-
istrator, Mr. Mike Reid.
I came from a big hospi-
tal in Chicago and all we
knew was that we had an
administrator. And there
Mr. Reid was, sitting in
the cafeteria with the rest
of us. When I saw that you
could actually talk to the
degree in nursing from
Mississippi University for
Women in 1993 and be-
in Labor and Delivery.
With tuition reimburse-
ment from the hospital,
she earned her bachelor’s
degree in nursing from
the University of Texas
at Arlington in 2013. She
also became house nurs-
ing supervisor that year.
Sacus retired Dec. 11
and is most appreciative of
her time at NMMC-West
Point. “I got a chance to
do what I really wanted
to do, which was work in
Labor and Delivery,” she
LOCAL GAS PRICES
said. “The hospital staff
was like a family. I love
the people there and we
care about one another.
spend more time with her
children and grandchil-
dren—Javan and Jessica
Walker live in Batesville
and have three children,
Dominik, Kayla and Anne
Marie; Titus and Vandetta
Walker live in Tupelo and
have two children, Tobia
and Amare.
She also hopes to bake
more Elisha’s Cream
Cakes, a project she start-
ed years ago to sell her
homemade “grandma’s
old-fashioned cakes” in
various flavors.
Source: gasbuddy.com
COLUMBUS
1.94 MURPHY USA
1913 US-45 N

out of it,” she said. “It took administrator, that was The Lord just blessed my
me a few years to find my just amazing to me.” She career there.” 1.95 SPRINT
3115 US-45 N

calling.” started working nights on Her husband, Eugene,

Sacus worked as an
LPN for the University
the medical-surgical unit
and in the nursery, and
passed away Feb. 16, just
two months shy of their
1.95 SPIRIT
1450 Jess Lyons Rd.

of Chicago Medical Cen- then transitioned to day 30th anniversary. He

ter before moving back
to Aberdeen in 1982. She
worked for a local nursing
shift in the nursery.
“After having children,
I wanted to go to nursing
served as bishop of Holy
STARKVILLE
Temple Apostolic Faith
Church in Aberdeen.
1.82 MURPHY USA
1012 MS-12

home and the former Mon-

roe County Hospital be-
school so that I could be
there to help women in
Now that she is retired,
she plans to “step up and 1.89 BREAK TIME
1045 Louisville St.

fore joining the NMMC- labor,” Sacus said. On help” to continue his work
West Point (which was a hospital scholarship, with their church and 1.79 RACKLEY OIL
225 Industrial Park Rd.

then Clay County Medi- she earned her associate ministry. She wants to
6B THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
RELIGIOUS BRIEFS
55th Anniversary
Zion Gate will celebrate the
55th Anniversary of Rev. Dr.
James A. Boyd and First Lady
Sis. Kathrene Boyd Dec. 20.
Live stream will be at 8 a.m.
with Rev. Dr. Vernon Swift,
pastor of Elizabeth Baptist
Church of Tuscaloosa, Ala-
bama bringing the message. A
drive-by parade will be held at
2:30 p.m.
Mississippi State
School Ministry
Mississippi State School
of Ministry will be taking ap-
plications for enrollment into
their online degree granting
program. Earn your Certifica-
tion, Associates, Bachelor,
Master and Doctoral Degree in
Religious Studies. We are an
accreditation School of Minis-
try authorized through State
of Mississippi and Federal
Government. Our degrees are
for ecclesiastical purposes
only. We accept transcripts
and your life experience also
can also be used for degree
granting purposes. For further
information feel free to call
662-425-8443
Fellowship Dinner,
Youth Service
Pleasant Ridge Faith Cen-
ter, 923 Ridge Road, hosts a
fellowship dinner and youth
service every third Sunday.
Gospel Book Club
Friendship M.B. Church,
1102 12th Ave. S., invites the
public to join its Community
Gospel Book Club from 6-7
p.m., on the fourth Friday of
each month, to study and
share views of the Holy Bible.
Open to all ages and ethnic-
ities. For more information,
call Barbara Mattison or Lillian
Murray, 662-570-5595.
Send in your church event!
Email editorialassistant@cdispatch.com
Subject: Religious brief
Grief Support Group
The Oil of Joy for Grief
and Mourning offers a grief
support group at 6 p.m. every
second Thursday of the month
at United Christian Baptist
Church, 232 Yorkville Road
East. “Making your grieving
journey easier.” For more in-
formation, call 662-327-0604
or e-mail unitedchristian@
cableone.net.
Celebrate Recovery
Celebrate Recovery, the
nation’s largest Christian
recovery program, meets Tues-
days at 6:00 p.m. at Mead-
owview Church, 300 Linden
Circle in Starkville. Millions
have found help, healing, and
support for hurts, habits, and
hang-ups using our popular
Biblical 12 step program.
Recovery Room
New Life Assembly, 4474
New Hope Road (near Dollar
General) hosts Recovery
Room, at 6:30 p.m. each Sun-
day. Find help, healing, and
support for any hurt, habit, or
hang-up using our Christ-cen-
tered 12 steps.
Prayer for Youth
Every second and third
Saturday, Pleasant Ridge Faith
Center hosts a prayer for the
youth from 2-3 p.m.
Prayer, Free Coffee
Mount Zion Missionary
Baptist Church, 2221 14th
Ave. N., hosts free coffee and
a prayer community outreach
service from 8-9 a.m. every
fifth Saturday. For information,
contact Jesse Slater, 662-
328-4979.
Radio Program
Apostles Patrick Perkins
invites the public to tune in to
WTWG, radio 1050 AM for Per-
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com
fecting the Saints Broadcast,
Wednesdays 8:30 a.m.
Women Prayer, Worship
Service
Church of the Eternal
Word, 106 22nd St. S., holds
a prayer and worship service
every Thursday from 5-6 p.m.
Call Marie Nabors, 662-549-
4322 or 662-329-1234, for
prayer requests.
Prayer Ministry
New Beginning Everlasting
Outreach Ministry invites the
public to call in with their
prayer requests at 662-327-
9843.
Prayer Service
Church of the Eternal Word,
106 22nd St. S., Columbus,
holds prayer service Thurs-
day nights 5-6 p.m. Contact
Marie Nabors, 662-549-4322.
Church service times: Sunday
school 10 a.m.; Sunday
worship 11:15 a.m.; Tuesday
Bible study 7 p.m. For informa-
tion, call Pastor District Elder
Lou Nabors, 662-329-1234.
Fitness
Transformations
The Transformational
Church, 2301 Jess Lyons
Road, hosts boxing lessons
Mondays and Wednesday from
5-7 p.m., weight-loss boot
camp Tuesdays and Thursdays
5-7 p.m. and both on Satur-
days 9-11 a.m.
Youth Fellowship
The Transformational
Church, 2301 Jess Lyons
Road, hosts Youth Fellowship
from 7-8:30 p.m. every Tues-
day. Games, prayer, service,
food, and more. Transporta-
tion available. For information,
call Iris Roberson, 662-295-
7456.
The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 7B
Classifieds
Ads appear in The Commercial Dispatch,
The Starkville Dispatch and Online
To place ads starting at only $12,
call 662-328-2424 or visit ads.cdispatch.com
THE DISPATCH n CDISPATCH.COM n THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 n 8B

Medical / Dental Mobile Homes for Sale

2019 Clayton Mobile Home

Brand new, never lived in.
Merchandise Community
Fully furnished, perfect for
an older couple or person. Ads starting at $12 Ads starting at $12
Attached front porch with
roof. May have to be Firewood / Fuel Good Things To Eat
moved unless lease is
approved by land owner. FIREWOOD FOR SALE.
$40,000. 828−674−8659 Various lengths.
662−295−2274.

Furniture
Shop Classifieds
West Point:
GE Washer, almost new,
$450.

Garage Sales
Dryer, good cond, $125.
Call anytime,
662−275−7679.
Two free signs General Merchandise
Sudoku YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

Sudoku
Auctions Roper Dryer, standard size,
good condition, $200.
Sudoku is a number- Yesterday’s answer
placing puzzle based on
662−312−6617.
Sudoku
a 9x9 gridis witha several
num- 4 9 5 7 8 1 3 2 6
ber-placing
given numbers.puzzleThe object 7 8 2 3 5 6 4 1 9

2020 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

TABLE SAW & FURNITURE based onthe
is to place a 9x9
numbers 3 6 1 9 2 4 5 8 7
Craftsman table saw. 10" grid
1 to 9with
in theseveral
empty spaces 6 4 7 2 9 5 8 3 1
$100. Craftsman
compound miter saw. 12"
given
so thatnumbers.
each row, eachThe 8 2 9 4 1 3 7 6 5
Apts For Rent: Other object
column and each 3x3 the
is to place box
$100. "Tell City" 70" table
numbers 5 1 3 6 7 8 9 4 2
contains the1same to 9 number
in
Employment
w/ extensions rumford
1 3 4 5 6 7 2 9 8
COLEMAN finish. Six chairs. $600.
"Ethan Allen" china cabinet
the empty spaces so
only once. The difficulty
that each row, each 2 5 6 8 3 9 1 7 4
Call us: 662-328-2424 RENTALS w/ hutch. 66" cherry finish.
$600. "Ethan Allen" Five Questions: level increases from
column and each
Monday
9 7 8 1 4 2 6 5 3
boxtocontains
Sunday.
TOWNHOUSES & APARTMENTS
highboy dresser. mahogany 3x3 Difficulty Level 12/23

Customer Service 1 BEDROOM 76" height. $400. the same number only once. The difficulty level

1 Jimmy
LOCAL LAW FIRM is seek-
2 BEDROOMS Call 662−368−6779
increases from Monday to Sunday.
ing Receptionist/Secretary. 3 BEDROOMS Sporting Goods
Stewart
Previous experience
LEASE,
© The Dispatch

helpful but not necessary. ED SANDERS GUNSMITH

Computer skills a must. DEPOSIT Open for season!
Email resume to:
job116@cdispatch.com AND Tue−Fri: 9−5 & Sat: 9−12

General Help Wanted
CARPENTER NEEDED w/ at
least 4 yrs. of experience.
Ideal candidate will have an
eye for detail, be depend-
able, have good communic-
2 Hermey
Over 50 years experience!
CREDIT CHECK Repairs, cleaning, refin−
ishing, scopes mounted &
662-329-2323 zeroed, handmade knives.
Located: Hwy 45 Alt, North
3 Krampus
of West Point, turn right on
2411 HWY 45 N Yokahama Blvd, 8mi & turn
COLUMBUS, MS left on Darracott Rd, will
see sign, 2.5mi ahead

Too much
ation skills, reliable trans- shop on left.
portation & basic tools. We Houses For Rent: North
4 Coca-Cola
662−494−6218.

STUFF?
specialize in home remod-
els & new construction. COLONIAL TOWNHOUSES.
Call 662-312-3130 for info. 2 & 3 bedroom w/ 2−3
bath townhouses. $650 to

Read local. 5 Eight (no

$750. 662−549−9555.

Rentals
Ask for Glenn or text.
cdispatch.com
Rudolph)
Mobile Homes for Rent

Ads starting at $25 3BR/2BA MH in New Hope.

$650 dep + $650/mo. No
Apts For Rent: North pets, quiet area. Leave full
name & message,
2−3BR/1BA DUPLEX, 205−712−6697.
newly renovated with bonus
room. HUD accepted. RENT A CAMPER!
662−425−6954. CHEAPER THAN A MOTEL!
Utilities & cable included,
FOX RUN APARTMENTS from $145/wk − $535/mo
1 & 2 BR near hospital. Columbus & County School

Place an ad safely
$595−$645 monthly. locations. 662−242−7653
Military discount, pet area,
pet friendly, and furnished
or 601−940−1397. Start your
de-cluttering by
from home with
corporate apts.

Real Estate
24−HOUR PROFESSIONAL
GYM. ON SITE SECURITY.
ON SITE MAINTENANCE. placing a garage
sale ad today! the Classifieds.
ON SITE MANAGEMENT.
24−HOUR CAMERA Ads starting at $25
SURVEILLANCE. Benji &
Ashleigh, 662−386−4446. Houses For Sale: East

Apts For Rent: West

Ads starting at...
FSBO: 4BR/2BA. New roof,
new paint, fenced
1 day $10
VIP
backyard, driveway leads

3 day $18
behind house. $128,000.
ACROSS
Rentals
662−889−1443.
1 Swine
5 Half of a 1960s
6 day $34
Lots & Acreage
Apartments & Houses rock group
1.75 ACRE LOTS: Good/
1 Bedrooms 10 Media icon
ads.cdispatch.com
Bad Credit Options. Good
Price includes 4 lines of text; from Chicago
2 Bedroooms
credit as low as 20% down,
$499/mo. Eaton Land,
$1/line after base cost. 12 Get up
3 Bedrooms 662−361−7711. 13 Heat setting
14 Red Square

Service Directory
Furnished & Unfurnished
name
1, 2, & 3 Baths 15 Conclude
Lease, Deposit 16 Item under
& Credit Check the tree
18 Take offense
viceinvestments.com
Promote your small business starting at only $25 at
327-8555 Air Cond & Heating General Services Lawn Care / Landscaping Painting & Papering
20 Knight’s title
21 Prez’s under-
Apts For Rent: Other ling
WORK WANTED: Licensed TERRA CARE SULLIVAN’S PAINT
RAPID TEMP Heating &
cooling. Home & RV. & Bonded. Carpentry, minor LANDSCAPING L.L.C. SERVICE 23 Some amount 45 Warty hop- 22 Wall cover
Service & install. electrical, minor plumbing, Phone: 662−549−1878 Special Prices. of pers 24 Raptors’
Free estimates. insulation, painting, demo− Landscaping, Property Interior & Exterior Painting.
24 Stocking 46 Shocked home
Call 602−736−4880. lition, gutters cleaned,
pressure washing, land−
Clean Up, Plant Care,
Bush Hogging,
662−435−6528
parts sound 25 Mariner’s
scaping, cleanup work. Herbicide Spraying 26 Easy gait DOWN place
General Services 662−242−3608.
28 Chop off 1 Bart’s dad 27 Goddess of
Painting & Papering 29 Exchange 2 Speculate plenty
A & T TREE SERVICES Lawn Care / Landscaping
Bucket truck & stump LIST YOUR 31 Lode material 3 June honorees 28 Crop pest
QUALITY PAINTING. 4 Frodo’s friend 30 Pale
removal. Free est. JESSE & BEVERLY’S Ext/Int Painting. BUSINESS HERE! 32 Give one’s
Serving Columbus LAWN SERVICE Sheet Rock Hang, Finish & Ads starting at $25 ads. OK 5 Washed out 33 Musical set in
since 1987. Senior
citizen disc. Call Alvin @
Fall Cleanup, Tree Cutting, Repair. Pressure Washing. cdispatch.com. 36 Agree 6 God of war Argentina
242−0324/241−4447
Landscaping, Sodding & Free Estimates. Ask for
39 Swear 7 Pitch cousin 34 Staff symbols
Bush Hogging specials! Larry Webber,
"We’ll go out on a limb for 662−356−6525 662−242−4932. 40 Big name in 8 Ridiculous 35 Annoying
you!"
auto racing 9 Gate tender fellow
Automotive Services
41 Select group 11 Cool quality 37 Future flower
43 Ranch animal 17 Numbered 38 Goes astray
44 Critic, at hwy. 42 Drop behind
times 19 December
24, e.g.

It’s a classified
rule-of-thumb:
We tell readers
what they need
to know to buy
what they need.

Buy. Sell. Discover. In the Classifieds section.

On the web: ads.cdispatch.com • Or call: 662-328-2424